Cardi B Credits Late Designer Thierry Mugler With Opening Doors For Her

Cardi B is paying tribute to Thierry Mugler, who was one of the first high-fashion designers willing to dress her. Following the subversive designer’s death at 73 on Jan. 23, Cardi shared photos of their collaborations over the years. “Mr. Mugler was still putting his foot on necks at 73 years old!!! A true inspiration for all of us,” the rapper writes.

Cardi wore archival Mugler designs throughout one of the biggest nights of her career thus far: the 2019 Grammy Awards, when Invasion of Privacy earned her the award for best rap album. On the red carpet, Cardi famously wore an avant-garde shell dress from the designer’s iconic fall 1995 couture collection. “Mr. Mugler was one of the FIRST designers to take a major chance on me,” Cardi writes, “allowing me to wear one of his ICONIC archive pieces for my Grammy red carpet look in 2019.” For her performance of “Money,” Cardi changed into a crystal-embroidered catsuit from that same year. For the remainder of the show, she wore an off-the-shoulder gown with fringed gloves from 1997.

The evening was a historic moment for the brand, as well, marking only the second time in 25 years that it had opened its archives for a celebrity, according to Refinery29. “The house of Mugler exclusively opened its iconic archives to dress Cardi B for the 61st Annual Grammy Awards 2019,” stated a press release.

Last year, Cardi had the opportunity to meet Mugler at a Musée des Arts Décoratifs exhibit celebrating his work during Paris Fashion Week. It also marked her first public appearance since giving birth to her second child in September 2021. For the occasion, she wore a red sequin dress with a towering feather cape.

“It’s so crazy because I was second-guessing if I should go the whole time leading up to that trip. I had just given birth to my son like three weeks prior and wasn’t feeling 100% like myself but something in my spirit kept saying ‘GO,'” Cardi writes. “Maybe God knew that if I didn’t go then I may have never had the opportunity to thank him for everything he did and the doors he opened for me.”

Ahead are some of the memorable Mugler looks Cardi has worn.