Let’s Talk about Lil Kim’s Fashion Influence and Her Best Looks
Lil’ Kim (left), Her stylist Misa Hylton (center) and Mary J Blige (right) Courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter
Rapper Lil’ Kim is nothing short of a fashion icon and influencer. She represents the fusion between hip hop and fashion and their effects on each other even today. People often wore what rappers wore in their music videos or on the street. Hip Hop was also responsible for many 90s trends such as crop tops, oversized pants or fur coats. Lil Kim is no exception to this. In the 90s and early 2000s, people waited with anticipation to see what she would wear on red carpets or for performances. She wore looks that embodied sex appeal with style. Thanks to her stylist Misa Hylton, her fashion looks are continuously recreated and looked at even today. These are some of her best and most recreated looks to date.
Courtesy of Vogue
We cannot talk about Lil Kim’s best looks without talking about one of her most popular from the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards. She wore a patterned lilac jumpsuit with sequins. The jumpsuit was one shoulder and showed her left breast, which was covered with a matching pastie. A matching purple wig and bracelet ties the look together. About this look, Hylton said, “I just thought that I’d do something that could say, ‘Look at her,’” she said. “We were always ready to push fashion boundaries.” Lil Kim glowed in this head turning outfit and was talked about all night because of it. Her and Hylton were not afraid to take fashion risks and push boundaries.
Courtesy of The Source Magazine
Another look is from her Hard Core debut album cover. This was her solo introduction to the music and hip hop scenes and she knew that. She donned the cover in a matching cheetah print lingerie set with a matching fur trimmed vinyl jacket. This look introduced the public with her sex appeal and her equally sex fueled lyricism. This album cover was a preview of what would soon become Lil Kim’s image and brand.
Courtesy of Hypebae
Her 1999 Met Gala look was equally head turning. She was the first female rapper to attend the event and she went as Donatella Versace’s muse. In head to toe Versace, she wore a matching studded pink set with a matching fur coat and pink snakesskin boots. She tied the look together with a pink and blond wig. About this look, Lil Kim said, “Donatella is my girl. We’ve loved each other from the moment we first saw each other,” she said. “She loved the fact that I have fun in her clothes. Versace was one of my favorite designers. She knew that and would always create things tailor-made just for me.”
Courtesy of Coveteur
Lil Kim has never been afraid of a head to toe monochromatic look. She loved color in her wardrobe. Her music video for Crush on You featured several monochromatic looks complete with matching wigs. Her wigs alone deserve their own category. Along with her different colored wigs, she often wore wigs adorned with designer logos. Her hairstylist, Dionne Alexander deserves praise for this. She used stencils to put the design logos on the wigs and collaborated with Hylton to make sure the wigs went with her outfits in the music video.
Courtesy of The Fashion Bomb
Lil Kim deserves her flowers in the fashion industry. Hylton, Alexander and her were responsible for many trends that people and other female musicians wore at the time and today. Even now, Lil Kim is serving looks and influencing fashion at 48. With several awards, albums and accolades under her belt, Lil Kim has cemented herself as the queen of both hip hop and fashion.
