Cardi B is washpoppin right now, to borrow some of the former Love & Hip-Hop's star own slang. The stripper-turned-rapper (and throw reality star in between those dashes) has been open about her path to obtain mainstream success, a journey which has been on the up and up, especially lately. With New York Fashion Week winding down today, we've been able to clearly see just how poppin' the Bronx native is-- she's been a notable presence at any "important" show, including Rihanna's FENTY show. Part of Cardi B's appeal is her openness and frankness, and the simple fact that, there isn't really anyone that speaks quite the same way as Cardi B (born Belcalis Almanzar). Literally. She uses slang (as seen above), and she plays around with funny, over-the-top voices, that honestly would be annoying if anyone else tried it. And then there is the way she chooses to pronounce words -- basically, whatever the fuck way she wants to -- in the video just below she pronounces "voluptuous" as "vul-unk-tuous." It should be noted, these aren't voices that a Nicki Minaj rap alter ego would take on during a record, these are everyday, conversational voices for Cardi B.
Back in March, before Cardi B got caught up in hype surrounding "Bodak Yellow," we caught up with her SXSW and thus I can attest to all of the above. At that time, fashion designers were starting to come around to her stripper-financed curves (which is something else she's open about), however, it may not have been quite the level of "approval" these high-end fashion designers are showing now, at NYFW. Still, at the time, Cardi offered words of motivation and a unique perspective. She told us when faced with rejection from fashion designers: "I'm going to buy their pieces until they want to work with me and then on top of that, I'm going to show them that a bitch could rock their shit." She added, "Sometimes you cannot say 'Fuck them.' Sometimes you got to be like, 'I'm going to prove to you that I'm a fashion fucking icon.'"
She's well on her way to proving that she is indeed a fashion-fucking-icon. With NYFW 2017 wrapping up, we've decided to take a look at all the best looks Cardi B rocked and rank them for your viewing pleasure.
Which look is your favorite? Does having Offset on her arm make the entire outfit look better?
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5. Helmut Lang with the boo, in fishnets
Photo Credit: Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images/Getty Images
For Helmut Lang's show, Cardi B brought along her favorite accessory, Offset, and the two coordinated to an extent, with black, red and white outfits. Cardi B was wrapped up in a patent leather black trench coat, sunglasses and fishnets, keeping that bawdy away from prying aways for this particular look, while Offset looked like he was about to go horseback riding.
4. Christian Siriano's backstage look
Photo Credit: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
For Christian Siriano's show, which was filled with brightly coloured looks, Cardi B went the opposite direction: all black. The "Bodak Yellow" artist donned a grey wig, recalling Storm from X-Men, a joke which she played off on her Instagram (and we wouldn't expect anything less from the would-be comedian). Although most of Cardi B's looks throughout the week were almost ballgown-level in terms of the fancyness-scale, this was by contrast, a more paired down outfit. Cardi B, who was styled by Kollin Carter, wore wide-legged, velvet black dress pants, a tightly-cropped long sleeve that showed off her curves, which themselves, were given quite the boost in an equally tight-fitted bustier top.
3. Alexander Wang show's cut-out fringe dress
https://www.instagram.com/p/BY4U3PgBla0Alexander Wang, always a favorite fashion designer among celebrities, was graced with Cardi B's presence and her 'fit for the show did not disappoint. This was the second-best dress (see below) she rocked all week, an all-black, cut-out dress that ends in a fringe, with her assets comfortably covered in black under garments, completed with ankle boots and diamond decked out claws. Not to mention, that grey, cropped haircut.
2. Friend and go-to designer's Laquan Smith's NYFW presentation
https://www.instagram.com/p/BY3zcnZhhKzOf course Cardi B has to show out for Laquan Smith's show. The designer, who continues to get more and more popping, was among the first to truly embrace Cardi B, outfitting her in the perfect shapes and styles for her body-- something she discussed with us in the video interview above, saying, "I loved his pieces, he reached out to me," she told us, "that was an organic relationship." Offset also accompanied Cardi to Laquan's show, wearing an almost floor-length textured grey jacket that matched Cardi's tightly-fit grey dress, which, although it had a high neck, it still showed some healthy side-boob and had an open back. Cardi paired the long dress with slouchy black boots.
Photo Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
Cardi B's best fit of New York Fashion Week festivities was, without a doubt, this effortlessly cool look she rocked to the Queen of Effortless Cool, Rihanna's, FENTY x PUMA show. RiRi's runway show was among the most talked about, and perhaps the hardest to get into, with reports that Tinashe was turned away from the exclusive event.
Cardi B, for her part, was prominently seated at the Spring/Summer '18 show, and her outfit played into Rihanna's typically sporty, youthful themes. Cardi B tends to dress up, if anything, so this look was a welcome change of pace for the Bronx native, with cut-off denim shorts, an oversized creamsicle orange-coloured puffy, cropped jacket (I think I used all the adjectives possible to describe that coat, but also, it's dope), and white-framed sunglasses that recall Kurt Cobain's go-to (and more recently, Wiz has adopted the same style of sunglasses as his trademark). Cardi looked back-to-school fresh in this attire, and with her bae Offset rocking a matching bubble jacket in red, she couldn't have killed it any further.
