(Photo: PictureGroup)

The September issue of Essence was all about fashion, from features written by esteemed fashion journalist Robin Givahn, photographs by acclaimed fashion photographer Gilles Bensimon and cover girl, fashion diva 2.0, Tracee Ellis Ross. On Saturday, just blocks away from the tents of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in NYC, the magazine celebrated Ross on her incredible sense of style and her return to television with the BET series Reed Between the Lines. Ross plays a psychiatrist married to an English professor, played by Malcolm-Jamal Warner.

The beauty was genuinely humbled by the applause in the room as she walked to the mic to speak. After acknowledging her father, sister Rhonda and friends who were there to support, Tracee expressed her grattitude about her first solo cover of Essence. “This is an extraordinary moment and I feel really blessed,” she told the crowd.

But what all the fashion hounds in the room wanted to really know was which designer she was wearing. And Tracee had this great anecdote to share:

“I wasn’t happy with what I was wearing for tonight. So of course, I woke up the morning I was leaving, going to every store and going through my old stuff and doing what I do. Since I don’t have a stylist, I take pictures of myself in the mirror with my cellphone. And then my mom called and she said what are you doing and I said I’m going to look for a dress and she said, ‘Don’t! Don’t go spend your money. I’m serious. I’ve gone downstairs and I pulled a rack full of dresses.’”

When your mom is Diana Ross, who needs a department store or a stylist? Tracee looked fabulous in a vintage black backless halter gown by Jackie Rogers and Prada heels. We can’t wait to check out her style every week on the new show, airing Tuesday, October 11 at 10 p.m.