The weight of hosting Saturday Night Live for the first time hit Colman Domingo all at once: It was when he was sitting in the office of SNL creator Lorne Michaels, seeing old scripts with different show hosts like Phil Hartman and Karen Black. “I thought, Wow, I’m a part of something that is an institution. It is really humbling, and I am grateful,” shares Domingo. For the actor, it plays to his strengths, with his origins in theater and sketch comedy: “I was very excited to slip on those shoes again!”

“I had a beautiful conversation with Lorne Michaels earlier in the week, who said that he really looks towards a host being in the middle of the ‘right time’ for them,” adds Domingo—a previous Vogue cover star and truly one of the most celebrated men in Hollywood right now. “It does feel like it’s a convergence of so many things for me—sort of being in the zeitgeist. It feels like the cherry on top. Hopefully, it’ll keep extending, and keep going on! But tonight felt really good. Being part of a television tradition that has been going on for 51 years!”

As soon as Domingo knew he would be hosting, he met with his stylists, Wayman Bannerman and Micah McDonald—a.k.a. Wayman and Micah—who are known for their striking red-carpet looks and avant-garde eyes. “We talked about what the look for the host monologue would look like and what direction we wanted to go in,” he explains. The press tour wardrobe is a serious game, and Domingo is in the midst of promoting his forthcoming movie, Michael, as well as the third season of Euphoria. “I thought it was a great opportunity with Valentino—I am a brand ambassador—to design something that felt sleek and sexy,” Domingo continues, “and this one, in particular, is an ode to Michael [Jackson]: I wore shimmer around the lapel, [which] feels like a New York night. Alessandro [Michele] really did so much beautiful detailing—it’s elegant and cool.” The custom black Valentino suit, with its thick silver lapels and sharp shoulders, was complemented with Boucheron jewelry and an Omega watch.

Domingo brought the idea to Wayman and Micah to pull a vintage Michael Jackson T-shirt to style with his look introducing Anitta as the musical guest. He paired the T-shirt—sourced from Metropolis Vintage in New York—with a light denim “Thriller”-esque jacket with black embroidery and matching jeans and snake-print Amiri shoes. Totally Michael-coded. “[He is] one musical artist that inspired so many, just as she has inspired so many,” reflects Domingo. “Cheers to Michael, as we are about to put this beautiful film out into the world.” Another look to introduce Anitta again put Domingo in a sumptuously embroidered Dries Van Noten gilet with a high funnel neck and impressionistic navy, pink, orange, and oxblood swirls. Each outfit reflected Domingo’s spirited, vibrant style, with his love of shape and structure and color and texture.

Next, they began to unpack the costume design for the actor’s characters in a suite of varied SNL sketches; they realized they could have a lot of fun. “[We] chose lots of sketches that played to my strengths and also challenged me a little bit, but also, there’s a diversity in characters,” he explains. “And so, for me, diversity in characters is also diversity in wardrobe.” A standout sketch—among the best of this 51st season and beyond—sees Domingo play a bitchy fashion school professor at the scene of an armed robbery in New York’s fashion district. “I don’t teach…I show,” he drawls while smoking a cig, “I am the lesson.” When asked to describe the suspect, he dresses down his criminal ’fit: “Be on the lookout for a mess.” More professor of couture D’artagnan Meringue please!

Domingo worked with legendary photographer Mary Ellen Matthews, who has lensed 25 years of the show and its starry hosts: Her promo photo shoots are instantly iconic, always jovial and playful, drawing the most characterful performances out of everyone from Timothée Chalamet to Kim Kardashian.

“The beautiful thing about working with Mary Ellen is that she is extremely fast and captures iconic images,” says Domingo. “We wanted to make all these images about New York City moments.” They shot in a bodega, on the city streets, in Central Park, and on stage in the iconic Studio 8H.

One of the most important aspects for Domingo when taking on the Saturday Night Live slot was to challenge himself in as many ways as he could—that sensibility articulated itself in his choice of fashion too. “With my stylists, they really outdid themselves when it came to creating a beautiful collage that I had not done before,” he says. “I feel like myself yet fashion forward. We decided on some emerging designers such as Craig Green and Who Decides War, that I had not worn before.” Said Craig Green look was a daffodil-print quilted jacket and arpeggiated paneled floral shirt and pants. He also wore a glamorous, structured, and shoulder-padded Weinsanto shirt with barrel-leg pants and heeled Zvelle shoes, a cornflower blue and leaf-printed Paul Smith shirt with Willy Chavarria shoes, and a Who Decides War patterned pink military-style jacket.

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Anna Cafolla is American Vogue’s news editor, working across fashion, beauty, culture and living from London. Previously, she has worked at Dazed, Cosmopolitan, and ELLE, and has written for The Guardian, The Face, AnOther, and Conde Nast Traveller. She will hold you hostage until you agree to her restaurant recommendations. ... Read More