Ciara Breaks Down 20 Looks, From Goodies to the Met Gala

Hey Vogue, I m Ciara,

and this is my Life in Looks.

[light upbeat music]

First look.

Let s see what little CiCi looked like.

Oh.

This is the Video Music Awards in 2004.

This was my first time ever attending the VMAs.

I was a baby fresh out of high school.

My song Goodies was rocking really big at that time,

and what I m wearing was one of my, like staple looks.

I love to wear swimsuit with jeans.

Every outfit that I did, I always had to have,

like tall boot.

I loved tall wrestler-style boots.

I don t think I had done

a red carpet of this magnitude yet at this point,

so I felt like, How do I pose?

like, What do I do?

Oh my gosh, like, this is my dream,

this is real, this is happening, but whoa.

I definitely know I hadn t mastered

the art of posing on a red carpet at this point.

Next look, hmm.

♪ I bet you want them goodies ♪

This is obviously my first album packaging

for the album Goodies.

Goodies was a very important song for me because the,

song was originally called Cookies, just so you know.

I was writing this song with Sean Garrett,

and I remember jumping on the sofa

and saying like, Who put the hands in the cookie jar?

But I remember playing around

with the metaphor of, like my love as my goodies

or the cookies in the jar.

It was my first time saying hello to the world,

and as you can imagine,

being this 18-year-old little girl dreaming so big,

I was so excited and I felt like I had so much to say.

I knew from my head to my toes and my soul

that this was a song that was gonna be the one

to kick it off from me.

Whenever Yolanda, my makeup artist of 24-plus years,

whenever, you know, she puts makeup and color on,

I m always like, What you doing?

Like if I see a lot of colors, I m like, What we doing?

We wanted to make sure the cover was vibrant.

Goodies was such a vibrant song.

I did have on my cross necklace.

Obviously it s art, but there s also,

for me, the representation of just like what the cross is

is important to me.

Cause I was a new artist, obviously I wasn t established.

I had to prove myself.

My label at that time

was thinking about taking this song from me

and trying to give it to my label mate at that time,

who was Britney Spears, who I love.

I mean, I think her singing,

♪ I bet you want them goodies ♪

would be really nice,

and I would ve been a co-writer on the record,

but this was my record.

So yeah, just super, super proud of the journey

and what this song means for me,

and I will tell you,

I would ve fought tooth and nails for this song to be mine

and it would ve still been mine.

Next look, here we come.

Look at that attitude.

♪ Rock it, don t stop it ♪

♪ Everybody get on the floor ♪

Jazze Pha, who produced this record

and who I did this whole project with,

surprised me in, like, the ninth inning,

the final hour of making this project.

This track comes on through the speakers,

and it s like,

♪ Bomp, bomp ♪

It s going like that, and then you hear,

♪ Automatic, supersonic ♪

and it s Missy s voice.

I was like, Oh my gosh,

like, that s Missy on the speakers on my song?

Like, I could cry thinking about it.

Why do I wanna cry right now?

We were jamming out.

I mean, we was busting on the dance floor in this video.

And when you see this photo of me,

like I know the energy that,

it just looks like young CiCi but with so much attitude.

I think for any artist, we all got our sauce,

the thing that makes us, that s within us,

and then there s a team that you re surrounded by

that also pours into you.

So when I think about this video,

there was a kid named Vic

who used to teach me how to dance in the skating rink,

on the skating rink floor,

and I always told Vic,

I said, Vic, if I ever make it, I m gonna put you on.

It was cool to have someone from high school

or my high school days with me jamming out in the video.

Now, even when this song comes on,

I see everyone jamming out with me

and doing that same groove

and they asked me how to do the 1, 2 Step dance.

There was so much love in the video.

Let s 1,2 step to the next page.

Aw.

So this is Super Bowl XXXIX Pepsi Smash concert series.

I just remember this being really fun,

and I remember going out there and rocking that thing.

The crowd is going crazy.

It s funny because I just saw a stylist on set recently

and she was wearing these boots in white.

It s kind of amazing how fashion kind of like comes back.

And whatever I do, I m always trying to have,

you know, touches of things that I m connected to.

And putting on my ATL hat,

that is a little bit of, like my armor.

You can t take the ATL out of me

and that s the city that made me.

It s just something else that happens

when that hat comes on.

And then, obviously, I m a military baby,

so, you know, I also wear that badge of honor proudly.

I always felt comfortable in the cargos.

And to be honest with you,

the cargos make the booty bounce a little better.

Make it bap, bap, bap, bap

It s a little helpful for the booty bounce. [laughs]

The next look. [giggles]

This is the look from my video Oh.

Wearing a top crop like this was like a new thing for me.

I feel like I also see a little bit more ab definition

in this photo.

So I was really trying to get better and get more snitched.

It was so much color

and so much life happening in this video.

To me, really represented one of the examples

of the essence in the heart of Atlanta.

I say, I like to turn my lip up like this

and get a little stank with it like this.

Like, you know,

♪ This is where they stay crunk, throw it up ♪

It was like I pushed the attitude meter up,

like a notch in this visual,

and that was with everything.

If you look at a lot of my silhouettes from back then,

a lot of my outfits had hoodies on them.

I could flex with it and pull it over my eye.

The hoodie placement was everything.

You would stop the camera

if the hoodie placement wasn t right.

Like, that s how important it was.

One of the things that is a must

on a Ciara video, on a CiCi video,

after I shoot, I ve gotta eat good.

I had to have my candy yams.

I had to have my mac and cheese,

and I had some crab legs at the end of the shoot.

All right, next look.

Oh my goodness.

These belts are like a thing.

But let me just tell you,

this might be the first time I tried a wig. [giggles]

I was on those laces before the laces was a lace, okay?

It was a thing.

This was another part of, like exploration for me,

wearing a skirt, believe it or not,

because, again, remember I was always doing my jeans

and doing my cargos,

and so I was trying to be a bit more, like cute.

That s what fashion s about.

You know, sometimes you hit,

sometimes you miss, but you gotta try.

Sometimes the photos back in the day would be like.

It would be like the mouth open a certain way,

and so I was sometimes pose and make that face

cause I wanted for someone to capture me in that moment.

All righty, next look.

Oh my gosh, this was so special.

I started to wear heels a little bit more.

This is one of those nights, also showing some legs.

That was new for me.

I wanna say it was my first Video Music Award.

To have that moment was really big for me,

and to do it with Missy was really special.

And I believe that she and I didn t meet,

it was my mistake, right?

I think that when you think about

many special moments we ve had together,

the iconic and successful moments,

like pretty much everything we ve done has been successful.

I think we just get each other, you know?

I think she understood me as an artist.

I also understood her.

I remember shooting the video for Lose Control.

We shot it with Dave Meyers,

who at that time I really wanted to work with.

And Dave and Missy basically have created

mostly all of her iconic videos together.

We were in the desert.

It was crazy hot.

We had on harness to dance up on the wall.

I remember that being so painful.

Looking at my dancers beside me,

like, This is worth it. It s gonna be great.

So when I think about the fashion in Lose Control,

I wanna say the dance style we were doing was Lindy Hop,

or something like that,

that Missy, you know, wanted us to do,

which was, again, her thinking in the Missy Elliot way.

We were dancing in a style that reflected that,

and the fashion also did in that moment

with the white pieces on,

the white skirts, and the white tops.

Lindy Hop meets hip-hop a little bit,

which I think from a fashion perspective

was just super epic and genius.

And again, just Missy being Missy,

and it was really cool to be a part of something so special.

All right, here comes the next one.

This is my second time going to the Grammys.

This dress was Dolce Gabbana.

I d never worn a dress like this, really, in my life.

And I feel like on nights that are rare, you gotta be rare.

I like this girl.

When I look at her,

I can see the slight evolution in me at this time.

And I just know me,

mentally, I was trying to go for something

a little bit more,

and so I think I did all right.

Eyy, this is such a moment.

I remember doing this video,

and I remember someone on set telling me

I need to, like try to be more sexy.

And to me, the sexy was me being dressed like a boy.

This song really played

with, like the idea of the double standards.

On the song, I say,

What if I had a thing on the side, made you cry?

Would the rules change up or will they still apply?

If I played you like a toy,

sometimes I wish I could act like a boy.

Like, all these things

that I think a lot of us women could relate to,

like, Would you like that if I did like that?

Because guys can just flip it, you know?

It s like, Would you like that?

So I worked with Diane Martel on this video,

and she was one of the few women

that were dominating in the directing scene.

I love that she understood me.

She could understand things from a woman s perspective,

but she also knew how to tap into all other sides,

and she knew how to speak, help me speak to the world

in the way that I wanted to visually.

And I do feel like that was another part

of the beginning of me forming a great relationship

with an incredible director

that I would continue to go on

and make more amazing magic with.

Next one.

I love this look.

This is one of my favorite looks that I ve done of all time.

I opened up the Met Gala red carpet

with Big Freedia this night,

and I had two big Afro puffs.

Caesar did my hair here.

We went for it.

When you talk about camp,

like this couldn t be any more camp

with the drama of the hair and the makeup alone.

I literally was about to knock every person out

on every corner with this hair. [laughs]

It was like, Oh my gosh, I m so sorry,

Ooh, I m so sorry.

This was kind of giving Diana Ross Studio 54

unapologetic energy.

And when it came to the hair,

I almost wanna say I surprised him with the hair

because I believe we looked back at our old sketches.

We just all really took our time and was like,

How do we make this something?

How do we take it to the next level?

Obviously, being a Black woman,

you know, we are empowered through our hair.

And there was something so empowering

about wearing my Afro puffs this night,

wearing it boldly, wearing it confidently.

That is the beauty of when you get to play with hair

and have fun.

So this is honestly, hands down,

one of my favorite looks I ve done of all time.

Eyy! [laughs]

This is so funny.

This is Halloween 2019.

We chose J&B this year.

This was such a big moment in music culture,

the visual that they had done at the Le Louvre.

We put Michelle Obama and Barack Obama in the back of us.

I m not even sure what we were doing there.

And I remember us committing to it,

and I had to make sure

that we pretty much had the exact looks.

We can t go do J&B and not do it right.

On Halloween, when you do your costume,

you gotta commit.

Like, that is the rule.

Next look.

This is another dream come true moment for me.

I had always wanted to host the AMAs.

Fun fact about this night

is that I learned that I was pregnant.

I remember flying home actually to my honey.

We both did the pregnancy test,

and then we were up at, like, three o clock in the morning,

going, Oh! [giggles]

It s so good.

Here I was wearing couture,

and this was leopard all over.

And you gotta have the drama.

I think drama is such a necessity,

you know, when it comes to big nights like this.

I remember being backstage and getting ready to go on,

moving so fast because every change,

like legit was probably under a minute, no lie.

Some changes were 30 seconds.

We had to clear the way for me a little bit

to move to the halls

because this cape was a bit dramatic.

But I loved how it felt when it flowed behind me.

And next one.

This was a very important moment for my friend

because I wanna say this was his first time

revealing his very first collection under his name, Dundas.

Our relationship runs really deep.

So the first time I went to the Met Gala with the designer

was with Peter,

and I just remember we got to know each other really well.

The night of the Met Gala, my dress ripped

and we had to go to the ladies room.

We had my security guard Mike, at that time,

run to the store and get some needle and thread,

and Peter and I went in the bathroom.

He was under my skirt, like trying to sew me up

so I can go and sit down and enjoy the rest of the night.

And this is really fun being there to support my friend

but also really fun cause I love this look.

Next page.

This designer, Kwame, is actually a Black designer,

and this is for the Black Music Collective.

I love how this dress is so sleek.

There s so much attitude.

Like, that s kind of my combination

that I love going to in fashion for carpets,

sleek, sexy, attitude.

I always want attitude at the end.

And I love supporting emerging designers in general.

But for nights like this,

when you re celebrating Black culture and music,

I thought it would be important and great

to highlight a Black designer.

I remember having to squeeze in my stomach for dear life

because the back was out.

So it was like the back is a thing,

but also the front is a thing, so I m like,

Hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it,

hold it, hold it, hold it, whew,

hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it, whew,

like that sometimes what you do on the carpet.

Next look.

I was styled by Marni Senofonte,

who I ve known for so many years

and has been a part of some of my most special,

magical fashion moments.

This was definitely one of them.

And obviously, this was my fourth time around the block

carrying a baby,

and I just had this thing about being a woman

that s pregnant in our world,

that you don t have to become someone different.

I remember the first time I had a baby,

I m like, How am I gonna, like, still be me,

CiCi, the artist, and just be who I am creatively,

but also embrace this journey that I m going on as a mom?

because I don t feel like the two

have to be two different people.

You don t have to stop

or lose yourself in the process of creating new life.

It s a beautiful thing.

So when it comes to fashion,

I m like, I wanna have fun,

like, I wanna dress this belly up.

My legs were so tired

because I wanted to wear heels at pretty much every look,

but it was worth it.

Like, I kind of wanted to have the idea

of making this shoot like a runway show.

You know, it s me, still CiCi the artist in my full element,

but I have my beautiful bump.

Next.

This, again, is me tapping into my inner tomboy,

and this is Willy Chavarria, who I m a big fan of.

I think that he really understands tomboy sexy.

We stacked the cross chains.

Shout out to Marni on that

because it just was giving attitude.

It was giving Willy Chavarria,

put me in your fashion show kind of vibes.

Let me walk your runway one time kind of vibes.

And talk about androgynous fashion,

like this was the ultimate androgynous look to me.

And I ll be honest with you guys, I m not gonna lie,

I felt real fly this night.

I can t lie.

Next look.

Let me just say there s nothing more cooler

than going to a CFDA date night with Vera Wang.

Always fun.

I always walk away feeling inspired by her.

But this was so much fun.

I love this look.

There s kind of that Brigitte Bardot-esque kind of energy,

Audrey Hepburn kind of energy in the hair.

I love that I had on a tank top

with, like, this somewhat pants, skirt,

tuxedo kind of energy on the bottom.

And it s funny cause I actually designed

the boots that I m wearing, which is really cool.

Next look.

This look, I gotta shout out Marni.

I loved this look when she brought this in.

I wanted to make sure

that I had my CiCi energy and attitude

but also sexy get-up.

It was a very fun night to go to Kim s event,

and it s a little bit like

I can hop on the stage with this look.

Kind of thing is giving me those kind of vibe

of the dramatic shoes.

And I m also obsessed with furry boots.

Me in the boots, it s a thing.

Like, I love drama in the boots.

It just was giving me like chic in the morning,

ready for the day to talk to America, okay,

early in the morning, but also still being me, right?

Still bringing my edge in the morning.

I always think that s important.

I sometimes struggle between being true to what I want to do

versus what I think I have to do for the environment.

And in this case, I felt like this is like my way

of how I would do the morning.

And I honestly needed a tall shoe

because my pants, like I wanted,

I was really particular in the pants hitting the ground.

I need to be able to be fully CiCi at all times

in moments like this,

and this look allowed me to do that.

Yah.

This look is one of my favorite looks

of all my red carpet looks.

I have to give Dean and Dan from Dsquared2 so much love

because I saw this dress online, fresh off the runway,

and the boys were so kind to fly in with this dress,

at the Vanity Fair Oscars Party.

As an artist, and I think as a woman,

sometimes we see looks that we are, like, fall in love

with this love at first sight in fashion.

And when you see that look, you re like,

Oh my gosh, if I can get my hands on that,

I d be the happiest girl in the world.

So the energy I felt in the whole night,

I felt like I was jamming to Le Freak by Chic

in my head all night.

And I felt good with the rest.

I felt sexy walking around with him,

and, like, there was an extra shimmy.

There was an extra shake going on that night.

[Ciara gasps]

Oh my gosh.

This is so cool.

This is my album, CiCi.

My fans know me as Ciara,

and my super core, day ones,

they definitely call me CiCi.

Last year was a big year for me.

It was a 20th year since my first album, Goodies.

And this year, we can say in album years,

I m turning 21.

And so just super, super proud of the journey.

Super thankful for the journey,

thankful for my fans,

and this look, the look.

Black is one of my favorite colors,

so I m obviously wearing all black.

And then there s this touch of red,

which red sometimes, to me, cuts through like a black.

I don t know if that makes any sense to you,

but as the artist, in my artist mind

that s how I see red.

And on this project, it represents joy for me.

It represents love.

And red was just the perfect color to match the black.

And in my packaging,

I actually wear some grills that says Ciara Ate,

but I spell it with the A-town letter A sign, T-E.

Double entendre.

You see what I did there?

Cause I just be like, you know,

I be like smooth like that or whatever.

The 3D plate that s on the cover artwork,

it also kind of represents my armor.

Like, sometimes I have to just be tough

even when I don t feel like it.

And sometimes, just to be honest,

I feel like I m navigating in the waters of a man s world

as a woman.

And there s just so many things that I feel

and I have felt on the journey,

and I ll never look back on taking ownership of my journey.

I hope people can get inspired to do that as well.

You know, take ownership in all that you can

and all that you are and you will go really far.

And I m so proud of this cover,

and I m so excited for the world to have it in their hands.

And this is pretty awesome.

It s CiCi.

All right you guys, that was my Life in Looks.

And I just wanna say thank you so much to Vogue

for taking me down this fashion memory lane.

I hope you guys had as much fun as I did.

Hope you guys see that we do really get better with time.

Love always,

Ciara,

aka C-I-C-I.

Mwah!

[light upbeat music]