Kerry Washington's Power Color Might Surprise You

Updated on 1/31/2017 at 10:00 AM

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You know those people who actually make the trends? The ones who wear them long before the rest of the world catches on? Kerry Washington is one of those people. Not only did she fearlessly rock a maternity crop top at the 2014 SAG Awards — an outfit even Kim Kardashian would later copy — she sometimes shops her clothes right off the runway.

So naturally we were thrilled to find out we could own a piece of the star's signature style: Kerry recently codesigned a clutch with Dee Ocleppo. Better yet, 25 percent of the proceeds go the Allstate Foundation Purple Purse, an organization that protects and supports domestic violence survivors. Looking good while doing good? That's definitely our favorite way to shop.

When we sat down with Kerry to chat about the partnership, we asked her to spill on a number of things: what was the designing process like? What inspires her style? And — most importantly — what was it like wearing Marc Jacobs Spring '16 just days after it hit the catwalk? Keep scrolling to see what she said.

On Designing the Clutch For Allstate Foundation Purple Purse

"Last year, I designed the bag on my own and I loved it — I really love designing. But the feedback was that a lot of people wanted to buy it, and we just didn’t make enough bags last year. Dee is such an awesome woman; she’s a girl’s girl, all about women’s empowerment, and she’s also super talented. So she and I designed a bag together this year. It’s available at Saks.com, and the money goes to Allstate Foundation Purple Purse."

On What Inspired Her While Designing

"Last year the bag was a little bit bigger — it was more of a day bag. This year, I wanted to do a clutch because it’s more Dee’s iconic shape. I also think it’s fun to do something different. If I’m going to continue to do this every year, I want to keep challenging myself to make them as different as possible. We added the charm, and I picked out the textile. We wanted something that was kind of edgy and bold but still classic."

Dee Ocleppo Editor's Crocodile-Embossed Leather Envelope Clutch ($350) and Purple Purse Charm ($10)

Dee Ocleppo Editor's Crocodile-Embossed Leather Envelope Clutch

On Wearing Marc Jacobs Spring '16 to the 2015 Emmys

“We had a couple of other dresses that I really, really like and still like — I’ll probably wear them later in the season — but then I saw that dress and it felt really special to me. I tried it on and was like ‘This is it. Like, I’m just going to sleep in this until the Emmys. I’m not going to take it off.'"

On Her Favorite Red Carpet Looks

"I really love my Prada crop top from when I was super pregnant at the SAG Awards. And there was Giles dress that I wore to the Django premiere in London that I really loved."

"Also, there’s a gown that Jason Wu made for me for the Oscars — again, when I was gigantically pregnant. That was really special to me because it was the first time Jason ever dressed anybody for the Oscars, and he’s a really dear friend of mine. That color was spectacular, and he was really great about it so that was special."

Kerry's Ultimate Power Color

"Probably black. It’s easy. It’s a color that I always feel like I’m wearing it, it’s not wearing me."

On Where She Finds Fashion Inspiration

"From all over — from travel, from magazines, from movies. Music videos. It’s such an important aesthetic medium."