Essence Pageant 2026 Performer Kehlani’s Iconic Magnificence and Model Moments – Essence
Picture by Christopher Polk/Billboard by way of Getty Photographs
Kehlani is a part of this system of the Essence of Tradition Pageant 2026. Do not miss this chance: tickets right here: Get tickets
At present, on Kehlani’s thirty first birthday, she gifted We a present as an alternative: his eponymous album (and fifth), DON’T DO IT. The 19-song undertaking is full of collaborations with the artists who encourage her, together with Clipse, Usher, Missy Elliott and fellow ESSENCE 2026 Pageant artist Brandy. However this album is not the primary notable second Kehlani has had this 12 months. She gained her first-ever Grammy Awards for Greatest R&B Tune and Greatest R&B Efficiency, recognizing her influence as an R&B and Soul artist.
However Kehlani’s affect extends far past music with an evolution in magnificence and style that units the same tone. She’s not married to only one aesthetic, effortlessly switching between buzz cuts, sharp pixie types, and sculpted fades. On the 2021 Met Gala, for instance, she was current in a two-tone feathered lower and a brief crystal go well with. Then, simply 2 months later, she lower off all of her hair for a slicked again pixie lower which she paired with a pink feathered costume.
As for make-up, Kehlani balances softness and edge. She continuously performs with attention-grabbing eyeshadow, sudden hair, and shiny lips, like on the 4th Annual Give Her FlowHERS Gala. Whether or not she’s hitting the pink carpet wanting nice or posting sleeker, brisker moments, she maintains a way of authenticity that makes every look really feel private quite than performative.
On the style aspect, it combines its magnificence with consolation and elegance. From outsized silhouettes and assertion outerwear (see: seventeenth Annual ASCAP Ladies Behind the Music) to body-hugging silhouettes and cutout particulars (like on this 12 months’s present). The drama first), Kehlani’s wardrobe is horny, structured and relaxed all on the identical time. She will dwell in streetwear-inspired tailoring, dishevelled denims, crop tops, and layered jewellery, whereas discovering consolation in high-fashion clothes that exhibit her tattoos and presence. Finally, every look appears like an extension of her evolving id: fluid, fearless and self-defined.
Take a look at a number of the ESSENCE Pageant performer’s magnificence and style moments in honor of her thirty first birthday.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 01: (FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Kehlani attends the 68th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Area on February 01, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Picture by Amy Sussman/Getty Photographs)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – JUNE 20: Kehlani attends Refinery29’s 29Rooms San Francisco Flip it into Artwork Opening Celebration on June 20, 2018 in San Francisco, California. (Picture by Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Photographs)
MIAMI, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 20: Kehlani attends the iHeartRadio Y100 Jingle Ball 2024 introduced by Capital One at Kaseya Middle on December 20, 2025 in Miami, Florida. (Picture by John Parra/Getty Photographs for iHeartRadio)
WEST HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 08: Kehlani arrives on the Trend Belief US Awards 2025 at The Lot at Formosa on April 08, 2025 in West Hollywood, California. (Picture by Steve Granitz/FilmMagic)
INDIO, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 11: (FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY) (NOT LICENSED FOR ANY STAND-ALONE OR SPECIAL INTEREST BOOK PUBLISHING USE REGARDING THE COACHELLA MUSIC FESTIVAL AND/OR THE STAGECOACH MUSIC FESTIVAL) Kehlani performs with Giveon on the Coachella Stage in the course of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts 2026 at Empire Polo Membership on April 11, 2026 in Indio, California. (Picture by Kevin Mazur/Getty Photographs for Coachella)
NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 27: Singer Kehlani performs onstage throughout Energy 105.1’s Powerhouse 2016 at Barclays Middle on October 27, 2016 in New York Metropolis. (Picture by Theo Wargo/Getty Photographs for iHeart – Energy 105.1)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 13: Kehlani attends the Los Angeles premiere of “The Tougher They Fall” on the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Corridor on October 13, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Picture by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 29: (FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Kehlani attends the 2026 Recording Academy Honors introduced by the Black Music Collective at Fairmont Century Plaza on January 29, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Picture by Amy Sussman/Getty Photographs)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 13: Kehlani attends the 2021 Met Gala Celebrating In America: A Lexicon Of Trend on the Metropolitan Museum of Artwork on September 13, 2021 in New York Metropolis. (Picture by Théo Wargo/Getty Photographs)
NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 10: Kehlani is seen on November 10, 2021 in New York. (Picture by Nancy Rivera/Bauer-Griffin/GC Photographs)
LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 29: Kehlani arrives on the Trend Awards 2021 on the Royal Albert Corridor on November 29, 2021 in London, England. (Picture by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Photographs)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 6: Kehlani attends Harper’s BAZAAR Celebration of “ICONS By Carine Roitfeld” at Plaza Resort introduced by Cartier – Arrivals on September 06, 2019 in New York Metropolis. (Picture by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Photographs for Harper’s BAZAAR)
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 21: Kehlani attends Femme It Ahead’s 4th Annual Give Her FlowHERS Gala on the Beverly Hilton on November 21, 2025 in Beverly Hills, California. (Picture by Kayla Oaddams/Getty Photographs)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 02: (FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Kehlani attends the 67th GRAMMY Awards on February 02, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Picture by Frazer Harrison/Getty Photographs)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JANUARY 07: Singer Kehlani attends the 2023 Grownup Video Information Awards at Resorts World Las Vegas on January 07, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Picture by Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Photographs)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 01: Kehlani attends the Warner Music Group 2024 Pre-GRAMMY Celebration at Citizen Information Hollywood on February 01, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Picture by Michael Tullberg/FilmMagic)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 17: Kehlani Parrish attends the Los Angeles Premiere of A24’s ‘The Drama’ at DGA Theater Complicated on March 17, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Picture by Alberto Rodriguez/GA/The Hollywood Reporter by way of Getty Photographs)
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 02: Kehlani performs on stage at Chase Middle on November 02, 2024 in San Francisco, California. (Picture by Dana Jacobs/Getty Photographs)
Kehlani on the seventeenth Annual ASCAP Ladies Behind the Music occasion on November 12, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Picture by JC Olivera/Selection by way of Getty Photographs)
LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 29: Kehlani performs in the course of the ‘Crash’ World Tour on the O2 Area on January 29, 2025 in London, England. (Picture by Jim Dyson/Getty Photographs)
AUSTIN, TEXAS – OCTOBER 06: Kehlani performs in the course of the 2024 Austin Metropolis Limits Music Pageant at Zilker Park on October 06, 2024 in Austin, Texas. (Picture by Erika Goldring/WireImage)
SURREY, BC – JULY 07: Singer-songwriter Kehlani performs on stage throughout day two of FVDED In The Park at Holland Park on July 7, 2018 in Surrey, Canada. (Picture by Andrew Chin/Getty Photographs)
INDIO, CA – APRIL 15: Kehlani performs onstage in the course of the first weekend of the 2018 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Pageant at Empire Polo Discipline on April 15, 2018 in Indio, California. (Picture by Natt Lim/Getty Photographs for Coachella)
LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 24: Artist Kehlani performs onstage in the course of the 2016 BET Expertise at Staples Middle on June 24, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Picture by Alberto Rodriguez/BET/Getty Photographs for BET)
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 26: Kehlani, winner of the R&B Tune of the Yr award for “Folded,” poses within the press room in the course of the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards on the Dolby Theater on March 26, 2026 in Hollywood, California. (Picture by Frazer Harrison/Getty Photographs)
Kehlani on the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards held on the Dolby Theater on March 26, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Picture by Christopher Polk/Billboard by way of Getty Photographs)
MUMBAI, INDIA – JANUARY 25: Kehlani performs on stage at Lollapalooza India 2026 on January 25, 2026 in Mumbai, India. (Picture by Matt Jelonek/Getty Photographs)
