Cardi B’s stylist on how her 2019 Grammys looks came together

When stylist Kollin Carter first showed Cardi B the vintage Thierry Mugler dress he wanted her to wear for the 2019 Grammys — a sculptural black velvet skirt that fanned out at the naval, like an oyster shell, to reveal a shimmering body stocking — the boisterous Bronx rapper balked.

“She was a bit nervous, because it is a big dress to take on,” Carter told Page Six Style. The outfit’s skirt was so narrow that Cardi would have to take baby steps on the red carpet; the embellished leotard, weighed down with gigantic pearls. But it didn’t take too long to convince her.

“Like a day later she was like, ‘That’s it. That’s the dress,'” Carter recalled.

The gown was one of three archival Mugler ensembles Cardi donned at Sunday night’s Grammy Awards, the second of which was a leopard-print bodysuit, peacock-skirted belt and purple cloak originally worn by original Catwoman Julie Newmar.

Then there was the white dress with extravagantly fringed gloves that she wore to accept her award for Best Rap Album. “Cardi talks a lot with her hands,” said Collins, adding that the flying fringe brought “all the drama.”

Carter has long been obsessed with Mugler, whose exaggerated shapes and over-the-top theatricality helped define 1980s fashion.

The relationship started in November, when Carter messaged the brand on Instagram, asking if his client could borrow one of their iconic pieces for her “Money” video. That didn’t work out, but when Cardi was nominated for several Grammys, Carter tried again.

“I harassed them every day,” he said. “I knew that I wanted [the show] to be a major moment for Cardi.”

The red carpet look came from Mugler’s legendary 20th anniversary couture show in 1995, which featured a performance by James Brown and appearances by Tippi Hedren and Patty Hearst. Mugler dubbed it his “Venus” dress, and the allusion to the goddess of love and sex was a big draw for Carter and for Cardi, who just had a baby girl seven months ago.

“She’s a new woman and embracing her body,” said Collins. “I really enjoy making her super sexy … People expect [her] to go the opposite way and cover up and be super conservative. But it’s just like, no. She’s a mom and she’s a sexy mother — she should be able to express that.”

Amazingly, Collins didn’t have to make any alterations to the Venus dress, which was the very same outfit Mugler muse Simonetta Gianfelici wore on the runway in 1995. But he did have to have the Mugler atelier in Paris swap the skirt’s pale pink satin lining, which had faded in the almost-25 years it had been in storage. The body stocking, too, had to be shortened to accommodate Cardi’s diminutive frame.

The process took about a month — but, Carter said, it was worth it.

“Mugler is about being completely brave and going against the grain and doing what you want to do,” he concluded. “That’s who Cardi is too. It was just a perfect collaboration.”