Entertainment

Cardi B’s NPR Tiny Desk outfit channels Naomi Campbell in vintage Mugler

By rec_atf • October 20, 2026
Cardi B’s NPR Tiny Desk outfit channels Naomi Campbell in vintage Mugler

Cardi B clocked in for her NPR Tiny Desk concert in a vintage Mugler jacket and latex pants. NPR Music

Cardi B means business.

The “AH HA” rapper, 34, put on a stellar performance at NPR’s Tiny Desk in a vintage Thierry Mugler jacket with celestial embellishments — a close match to one Naomi Campbell wore on the runway at the designer’s fall 1990 show.

Cardi’s version of business attire also included a sleek office updo and black latex pants with matching square-toe boots. Mugler star earrings and a black-and-silver stiletto manicure kept the theme going.

The rapper’s blazer was a near-twin to a style Naomi Campbell modeled on the designer’s fall 1990 runway. NPR Music
Silver star earrings and a stiletto manicure echoed the jacket’s celestial hardware. NPR Music
Campbell also modeled a silver-buckled jacket on the brand’s fall 1989 runway. Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
In 1990, the British supermodel walked alongside a model in coordinating star-studded blazers, hers styled with a latex turtleneck. Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

The elongated four-point stars, a common motif in Mugler’s work, echo the designer’s famous Angel fragrance bottle.

Campbell strutted down the catwalk in a similar star-studded blazer layered over a latex turtleneck, alongside another model wearing Cardi’s Tiny Desk jacket. The same style sold on the secondhand marketplace 1stDibs for nearly $3,500.

Cardi performed eight songs in the set, including “Bodak Yellow” and “I Like It.” According to NPR, her performance drew one of the biggest crowds the series has seen in its office.

The elongated four-point stars are a longtime signature of Mugler, inspiring the shape of the designer’s iconic Angel fragrance bottle. NPR Music
Some viewers also saw shades of Janet Jackson’s “Rhythm Nation” era in the buckled jacket. NPR Music

“Go watch my Tiny Desk performance RIGHT NOW and let me know what it’s giving.. did you laugh? Did you cry? Vibe? All of the above???” she wrote on Instagram, earning praise from stars like Kelly Rowland, Chloe Bailey and Remy Ma in the comments.

“👑👑👑 You make the Bronx proud today and always,” wrote congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

On social media, fans compared the look to Janet Jackson’s “Rhythm Nation” era. Others brought up “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom” singer Selena, citing Cardi’s own lyric crowning herself the “real trap Selena.”

Back in 2019, the star emerged from an oyster shell in Mugler couture at the Grammys. WireImage
Stylist Kollin Carter told Page Six Style he “harassed” the brand daily to land her Grammys looks. Getty Images

The Mugler moment harkened back to one of Cardi’s early forays into archival fashion: the 2019 Grammys. On the red carpet, she emerged from a pink oyster shell in a 1995 couture gown, one of three vintage Mugler looks she wore that night.

Stylist Kollin Carter, who also dressed her for Tiny Desk, told Page Six Style at the time that he’d first messaged the brand on Instagram the previous November. “I harassed them every day,” he said of the Grammys push.

She has returned to the label regularly since, wearing a feathered red sequin gown to the Paris opening of Mugler’s “Couturissime” exhibition in 2021 and sitting front row at the brand’s spring/summer show in 2024.


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