Hotties unite: Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion joined forces once again for Cardi’s new song “Bongos”—their first collaboration since 2020’s “WAP.” In the video, the two served up a host of bold looks, thanks to stylist Kollin Carter.
Carter, who is Cardi B’s longtime stylist, usually only handles his client s look for music videos. But “Bongos” was a new challenge, as he single handedly outfitted both stars and a host of backup dancers. “Normally when there s a feature, I collaborate with stylists and they do their own thing on their client, and then I do my own thing,” he tells Vogue. “Meg was confirmed later in the conversation and Cardi is very attentive when it comes to the other artists, so I was like, ‘You know what, let me just take all of this on and make it magic.’”
And magic it was. Carter orchestrated looks for 12 separate scenes complete with magnificent Harris Reed headpieces, a rainbow of LaQuan Smith bodysuits, and a hypnotic Pucci room.
For Carter, incorporating Cardi’s Afro-Latina roots into the looks was tantamount. “I think that this was a perfect opportunity for us to explore Cardi s background with fun colors and different silhouettes, and make it feel close to the core of who she is, culturally,” he says. “It’s a side that a lot of people haven’t gotten to see from her.”
Cardi s massive, intricate Harris Reed headpieces are some of the biggest standouts in a video packed with eye-catching looks. Carter, who became enthralled with the British designer’s extravagant headwear since he saw them on Iman and Lil Nas X, knew that he would style one himself one day, despite the fact that they had already been worn by two superstars. “Normally when you see someone that big visit something you don’t revisit it,” he says. “But I don’t care, I’m doing that, and I’m gonna do it in my own way.” Carter admits that the shoot was stressful, and the Harris Reed order jumped from one to three headpieces overnight. “The Harris Reed team was amazing. They worked with us and knocked it out within a few days,” he says. “It is one of my favorite looks.”
In a noticeable break from the video s largely monochromatic looks, Cardi B appears in a Pucci room, where she matches her psychedelic bodysuit to the wallpaper, carpet, and even the couch. “I wanted to find a way that we could make it insane,” he says of the Pucci look. Carter closely collaborated with Camille Miceli and the Pucci team to make a trippy look for Cardi—which included adding a sliver of cleavage—and the decor to match. “There have been a lot of girls who have done it, but have they done a room though?” he says.
This three-way partnership between Carter, Cardi, and Megan is far from over. The stylist is already preparing to dress the two rappers for their recently announced VMAs performance on Tuesday. “It’s revisiting the video, but in an even more elevated, performance way,” Carter teases. “You can expect a lot of fringe and some really vibrant colors.”
