Keke Palmer is traveling back in time to enliven the beauty of decades past.
In a new, three-part series called “Glam Through the Ages,” coming Thursday on KeyTV Network’s YouTube and Facebook channels, the 31-year-old actress and podcast host will be zeroing in on the hair, makeup and fashion trends spanning 40 years, from the 1950s through the 1990s, unraveling the cultural context that formed each aesthetic. Palmer co-created and executive-produced the show alongside Max Wyeth, Lenoria Addison and Sharon Palmer.
“With ‘Glam Through the Ages,’ I wanted to honor the looks that shaped us, the stories behind them and the incredible glam teams that help bring those stories to life. It’s education, it’s transformation and it’s a celebration of beauty across time,” Palmer exclusively told WWD.
Episode One kicks off with a reimagination of the “elegance and societal mood of 1955” with special commentary by cultural scholar Taniqua Rudell, according to the official press release. Episode Two focuses on 1974, “disco to blaxploitation cinema,” with special guest Garrison Hayes, filmmaker and movie expert. Episode Three is where “supermodel culture, bold beauty and the rise of the hip-hop aesthetic collide,” as Palmer sits down with fashion enthusiast Taylor Cassidy. Each installment will spotlight the ways in which Black culture, specifically the sense of identity within, transcended and blossomed beyond decades of oppression through visual storytelling.
Keke Palmer posing in her ’70s-inspired glam for the series.
Conceptualized and brought to life by makeup artist Kenya Rucker and hair stylist Kira Dior, the glam highlights see Palmer don tight, ginger coils, electric blue eye shadow and intentionally clumped lashes for her ’70s moment.
Meanwhile, the ’90s episode sees her keep that same copper hair color, but straightened with cool-toned contour and a baby charcoal smoky eye under her skinny brows. Designer Sergio Hudson, a longtime collaborator of Palmer’s, helped lead the series’ fashion.
Palmer founded KeyTV Network, the digital-first media and production platform telling the stories of BIPOC creatives, in 2022. For its introductory social media post, the singer and activist said: “All it takes is one of us to unlock a door to unlock a million doors for each other. I’m so excited to introduce you guys to KeyTV, where our stories matter and where we are represented as the keys to the culture.”
Keke Palmer in her ’90s-inspired hair and makeup on “Glam Through the Ages.”
Following the release of Episode One on Thursday, Episodes Two and Three will be released on Aug. 21 and Aug. 28, respectively. “Style has always been more than just how we dress — it’s how we express, resist, reclaim and redefine ourselves,” Palmer told WWD.