In September 1987, Lisa Bonet’s Denise Huxtable headed off to Hillman College for her sophomore year—and now, precisely 39 years later, the Cosby Show spinoff A Different World is back, with author, screenwriter, producer, and director Felicia Pride at the helm of the beloved NBC show’s brand-new Netflix revival.
Bonet may not be returning to Hillman’s campus just yet (though many of the show’s original cast, including Jasmine Guy and Kadeem Hardison, do reprise their roles, and Bonet’s character Denise is referenced…), but reflecting on the star’s turn as Denise has us reminiscing about the singular power of her bohemian, maximalist style throughout the 1980s and ’90s.
So here, we’ve gathered 15 jaw-droppingly chic vintage pictures of Bonet at the peak of her cool-girl powers… not that they’ve ever really abated.











