Lil Nas X turned heads at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards with a dazzling Harris Reed-designed outfit, but Iman wants you to know that she did it first!
via People:
The Harris Reed design — which Iman, 67, sported in gold and white and Lil Nas X in solid black — is a dramatic feathered look consisting of a hoop skirt and headpiece. For the 2021 Met Gala, Reed dressed Iman in a gold jumpsuit under the feathers and accompanied her in a complementary white outfit and headpiece.
For this year’s MTV VMAs black carpet, Reed put Lil Nas X, 23, in an all-black version of the look from his London Fashion Week presentation in February. The “Industry Baby” singer went shirtless and wore a pair of black trousers under the skirt.
On Monday morning, Iman took to Instagram to make sure everyone knew that she wore the designer’s creation first, writing, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery! Congrats to @harris_reed @lilnasx @vmas 2022.”
Reed commented on her post — which included photos of herself and Lil Nas X — writing, “I love you,” while plenty of others simply commented crowns and flames.
When Iman put on the golden look, which Reed created in a partnership with Dolce & Gabbana, for the Met Gala last year, she told PEOPLE at the gala that the headpiece was “not heavy at all.” On the flip side, Lil Nas X said on this year’s VMAs carpet that it was, in fact, “heavy.”
When Iman first saw Reed’s creation for her Met Gala appearance, she told Vogue that it was “divine.” She added, “It’s beyond what I thought, the illustration doesn’t do it justice.”
Each of these looks by Reed — who has also dressed Harry Styles, Adeleand Emma Corrin — is part of his Fall 2022 Ready to Wear collection that he presented in February at LFW.
“It’s such a fashion moment,” Reed told WWD of his show, which he named “60 Years a Queen.” “I don’t care if some people hate it. What I care about is that it’s a moment and you can’t look away. It’s giant feathered headpieces, arrows flying, draped gowns, it’s a lot going on baby.”
And while dressing huge names has become par for the course for the 26-year-old designer, the opportunity to put Lil Nas X in one of his designs was particularly special for Reed.
He wrote on Instagram after the VMAs what an “honor” it was to dress a “true queer icon,” adding that Lil Nas X is someone he looks up to for “being brave, daring, loud and different.”
Reed also gave a nod to everyone who helped pull the look together, including Lil Nas X’s stylist, Hodo Musa, and collaborator Vivienne H. Lake, who helped create the headpiece.
Well, we have to ask — who wore it better?
