Exclusive: Saweetie Designed Her PLT Collection For All Bodies And Twerked Her Way Down The Catwalk To Debut Her Line
Our fave Icy Girl, Saweetie shut down the luxurious Plaza Hotel in New York City to debut her size-inclusive collection with UK mega retailer, PrettyLittleThing. This is the rapper’s first collection with the brand and her first time presenting during New York Fashion Week.
The top-charting raptress stunned the audience as she performed and walked down the runway in a full sheer, sequin mini dress that showed off her curves. Saweetie also had an outfit change for her second performance. Wearing a black short tracksuit, blinged-out bralette, and a pair of glittery thigh-high boots.
The fashion show was more of an epic concert with performances by Lil Kim, Ashanti, and her bae, Quavo. There were also a ton of celebrities sitting front row, including Kehlani, Remy Ma, Fat Joe, and Ja Rule.
Saweetie kept all of the icy girls in mind creating her 59-piece collection, with sizes ranging 2-22. She has something for the ladies who love the bling, but also the comfy, sporty girl. The collection launched yesterday, and styles are already sold out! We’re not surprised by the success of her line. The bay area native has taken risks with her style wearing a custom bandana outfit as and an ode to the west coast, and fans have since worn similar looks.
BET exclusively spoke to Saweetie about the process creating a collection and debuting at New York Fashion Week.
BET: As the ultimate Icy Girl, what qualities do you need to be the ultimate Icy Girl?
Saweetie: The ultimate Icy Girl is about her hustle. I wanted this campaign to show women that if you work your ass off, you will be able to enjoy the fruits of your labor. The campaign shows a rich woman in her own house, driving her own car, and wearing her own clothes. The Icy brand is all about empowering people, so it’s Icy season all year.
BET: What inspired this Saweetie x PLT collection?
Saweetie: I love PrettyLittleThing because they stress the importance of a quality brand and quality clothes. The clothes are really good, it’s not something you just wear and throw away. My style is so diverse, so I wanted to come up with a collection for everyone. Whether you want a tomboy feel, or the bougie girls, or the sexy, show-a-little-skin feel. There's just so much variety, I feel like anyone can feel comfortable in at least a couple of pieces. And that was my goal for different types of women, no matter what your style is to be like "Dang, I liked that."
BET: Why do you think it’s important to take fashion risks as an artist?
Saweetie: I think it’s important to take risks at anything in life because risks promote growth. You only grow through trial and error. I didn’t always like my outfits on stage, so I learned that I needed to take a step back and not just rush on stage in anything, so I started taking my stage looks more seriously. I started looking at it as a way to express myself and it allows me to play dress up. That’s how I came up with iconic moments like my Sailor moon outfit and bandanna look.
BET: Can you tell us about the designing process, and how much of it were you involved in?
Saweetie: I was involved from start to finish. One of my secrets is, I came up with a bunch of mood boards of things I would wear on and off stage. I showed it to the team, we collaborated and then looked at fabrics, and designed.
BET: There is an ongoing conversation in the fashion world about diversity. How important was it for you to launch a size-inclusive collection?
Saweetie: I wanted this collection to be dope for everyone. PLT is a brand that carries sizes in the dope stuff. Like I pay attention to those things. So, the fact that they empower all types of women and made me want to collaborate with them so that, you know, I could bring out my little icy style. Some brands don’t carry all sizes, so I wanted to make sure that my collection did have every style in all sizes, it allows all women to feel beautiful.
BET: What’s your favorite piece from the line?
Saweetie: My favorite pieces are these sheer beaded pants, (currently sold out), and the Grand Theft Auto print racecar one-piece.
BET: How monumental is it, presenting a collection during New York Fashion Week, how do you feel?
Saweetie: I’m so nervous! This is a big moment for me, but I’m really excited, and PLT was a great partner throughout this entire process.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
