Cardi B: Where are her flowers for being such a fashion force?

Written by Chiedza Muchauraya

Cardi B is back and busy! Just three weeks after giving birth to her second daughter, she was at Paris Fashion Week reminding us how much we missed Cardi and her clothes. Effortlessly demonstrating her ability to take risks as the fashion force she clearly is. But this is far from the first time Cardi B has left jaws on the floor. 

In 2017, Cardi B entered the international spotlight when she dropped Bodak Yellow, which had the younger generation in a chokehold. Since then, she has cemented herself in the music and entertainment industry. Prior to her debut album in 2018, audiences were acquainted with Cardi B through Love and Hip Hop: New York, where she joined the cast in 2015. Even today, viral memes of her time on the show circulate across social media platforms. Although her personality remains the same, a side-by-side analysis of her style highlights a considerable evolution.







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A massive turning point in Cardi B’s style journey was when she teamed up with stylist Kollin Carter after they met during her 2017 July/August Fader cover, which Carter styled her for. Since then, the duo has gone on to consistently deliver look after look, exuding a similar sense of trust, harmony, and innovation as Law Roach and Zendaya. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in March 2024, the pair identified the viral 2019 Met Gala Thom Browne dress as their most iconic outfit. In their words, this look was their way of communicating to the fashion industry that they were here to stay and to be taken seriously. Now, Cardi B comfortably sits as a firm favourite for Met Gala viewers. Her princess moment at the 2023 Met Gala in a ballgown by Chenpeng Studio, featuring large, sculpted rosettes, lives rent-free in many minds.






However, the access that Cardi B and Kollin Carter now have to such designers was not always so readily available. Kollin Carter spoke to Vibe about how difficult it was to get clothes for shorter, curvier clients like Cardi B, who do not fit the ‘model physique’ consumers have grown accustomed to. Despite this, Cardi B has certainly come into her own, and today we see a real mastery of style. Some incredible looks from Paris Fashion Week SS25 include her Rick Owens super-shoulder ensemble, which I fear is the closest we’ll ever get to a real-life Draculara (Monster High fans will get the reference). This was juxtaposed against her golden moment in a metal fringe dress by Julien Dossena for Rabanne SS25—pure perfection!

So, when we consistently see beauty and creativity  from Cardi B and Kollin Carter, why are they still not really getting all the flowers they deserve?





High Fashion is still an exclusionary society despite the tremendous effort to make it a more inclusive space they aren’t quite there yet. Unfortunately, this is a potential factor that impedes Cardi B realisation as a real fashion icon of the current time. We still exist in a time where slimmer and taller bodies are seen as a signifier of class, elegance and respectability whereas curvier and/or larger body shapes are often overly sexualised and treated with less respect. Just over the past couple years the body ideal has changed before our eyes as BBL’s being unstitched and ditched. Ozempic a diabetic treatment, has been used as a weight loss drug as admitted by some celebrities in Hollywood . Even the notion that heroin chic is now ‘back on trend’ highlights the exclusion of shorter and curvier bodies in high fashion. 

 

Cardi B’s journey from rap superstar to bona fide fashion force has been nothing short of remarkable. Her bold style, cemented by her partnership with Kollin Carter, has produced unforgettable moments that have dazzled fans and dominated conversations in the fashion world. Yet, despite her undeniable influence and creative flair, the barriers of high fashion's exclusionary standards persist. The industry's narrow beauty ideals, still dominated by the preference for taller, slimmer bodies, continue to challenge the recognition that Cardi B rightfully deserves as a fashion icon. Until then we won’t stop looking out for the dynamic duo on the red carpets!















 






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