Karol G: From Latin Music Icon to Fashion Star

Within the advert marketing campaign for Loewe’s newest “Paula’s Ibiza” assortment, Karol G is seen rising from the ocean in a white slip gown, waves mirrored in sun shades that set off the musician’s (then) flame-red hair as she gazes into the horizon. The picture, captured on Colombia’s Caribbean coast, has a legendary high quality that by some means reveals the pensive songwriter behind high-octane performer. Jonathan Anderson, Loewe’s inventive director, wished it shot within the singer’s residence nation, she says, to seize “all the Karol G vibe.”

It’s a vibe that has unfold like wildfire within the final 12 months. In February, Karol’s fourth studio album, “Mañana Será Bonito” (Tomorrow Will Be Lovely), grew to become the primary Spanish-language album by a girl to debut at primary on the US Billboard 200 chart. Final month, she gained an MTV Video Music Award for her collaboration with Shakira for his or her observe “TQG.” At this time, Karol G is the feminine artist with essentially the most Spanish songs on the Billboard Sizzling 100.

The brand new queen of reggaeton — a dance-ready style of music dominating the airwaves with its mixture of reggae, rap and dembow beats infused with pop — Karol G is a family title throughout a lot of Latin America. However a few of her largest hits — together with “Provenza” and a duet with Nicki Minaj referred to as “Tusa” — have helped the reggaeton style ring a bell with audiences everywhere in the world, cementing her newfound standing as a worldwide pop sensation.

And in navigating her manner by means of the notoriously difficult music business, Karol has managed to domesticate a picture and a sphere of affect which have been observed by forward-thinking manufacturers in an equally difficult business: vogue.

“Karol G is without doubt one of the largest stars in up to date Latin music and her daring, eye-catching fashion is a significant a part of her persona,” says Charlie Smith, chief advertising and marketing and communications officer at Loewe, the primary luxurious model to solid her as a marketing campaign mannequin. “She has an enormous world following due to the way in which she brings her personal twist to reggaeton and has introduced the fashion of music to new audiences around the globe.”

Loewe’s choice to faucet the reggaeton star seems to have paid off. On Instagram, the response to Karol’s publish of the marketing campaign clocked up greater than three million likes and $1.2 million in media affect worth (MIV) for the model, in accordance with Launchmetrics, a knowledge analytics agency.

The marketing campaign, which was revealed in April, couldn’t have come at a greater second for the LVMH-owned model: Karol G might have been comparatively unknown to the broader vogue institution however her music profession was about to enter overdrive, fuelled by an more and more passionate and devoted fanbase.

After a June televised efficiency for the “At this time Present” outdoors New York’s Rockefeller Middle, producers of the present revealed that the crowds for Karol G’s look swelled to a dimension bigger than another in reminiscence together with these for Latin music legend Ricky Martin’s landmark 1999 efficiency. Two months later, Billboard introduced that Karol made historical past as the feminine with essentially the most entries on its Sizzling Latin Songs chart, a rating which has been round for greater than three many years. No marvel Rolling Stone gave her its September cowl.

But when, because the journal’s strapline suggests, Karol does now really feel “fearless and free” within the music business that hasn’t at all times embraced her, then her emotions for the style business have but to comply with.

The Making of a Muse

“I’ve by no means been ‘greatest mates with vogue,’ so to talk,” confides Karol G, expressing as a lot shock as delight that her huge break in vogue would come from a extremely conceptual designer like Jonathan Anderson for a luxurious model on the scale of Loewe. “Trend might be awkward. My fashion simply goes with the movement.”

The pairing isn’t fully apparent. In recent times, Loewe has been rejuvenated by Anderson’s surrealist, craft-infused strategy, pushing annual gross sales inside putting distance of €2 billion ($2.1 billion), in accordance with market sources. Nevertheless it stays certainly one of Spain’s most iconic heritage manufacturers, having traded on its elite standing and discreetly opulent aesthetic since 1846. Karol G’s picture is way extra exuberant and accessible.

“Earlier than that, I felt like nobody noticed me as a fashion-related determine as a result of I by no means acquired clothes from manufacturers, and once we approached them, it didn’t work out,” remembers Karol, explaining that she normally had to purchase what she wished at retail as an alternative of getting manufacturers supply to lend the most recent season’s items — a publicity perk that different musicians of her calibre readily loved. “It took me a very long time to expertise that.”

But when Karol nonetheless sees herself as a vogue outsider, her energy as an influencer has develop into clear to savvy vogue insiders.

A rating of the highest 100 Instagram accounts by SocialBook, an organization connecting creators and types by means of influencer advertising and marketing, exhibits that Karol G’s engagement charges are considerably larger than a few of her contemporaries.

With 66 million followers on the platform, Karol G ranks seventieth when it comes to follower rely however sixth with regards to engagement charges. In early October, her 60-day engagement fee was larger than that of Okay-pop boy band BTS, whose members have quite a few luxurious model ambassadorships, and Hollywood star Zendaya.

“A superb or spectacular engagement fee is something near or above 5 p.c,” says Julian Martinez, inventive director at SocialBook.

To place this into context, Kim Kardashian has greater than 5 occasions the followers as Karol G, however Karol’s 5.8 p.c engagement fee dwarfs Kardashian’s 0.4 p.c fee over the identical interval.

“A excessive engagement fee means you might be doing one thing proper along with your viewers and charming their feelings a method or one other [but]… there are lots of elements and variables current [so] it’s onerous to isolate the precise trigger. Nevertheless, no matter [Karol G] is doing along with her posts and content material, she’s doing an ideal job,” provides Martinez.

Movie star advertising and marketing pays dividends in model consciousness and affinity, however it may well additionally immediately drive gross sales of particular gadgets when followers are compelled to mimic their idol’s fashion. “Karol G Closet” is only one of many social media accounts that chronicles Karol’s wardrobe like a purchasing information, full with product pictures and costs for the Balenciaga footwear, Miaou corsets and Miu Miu skirts she has been noticed carrying.

A fast scan of her latest US live shows helps verify Karol’s potential as a trendsetter. Eventually 12 months’s Coachella, for instance, the place she wore a Roberto Cavalli costume to sing a medley of classics by Latin music artists, a wave of color emerged from the group as throngs of followers paid tribute to the singer’s “blue period” hair by carrying wigs of the identical color. “That was a shock,” she muses.

Manufacturers nearly by no means launch figures to show {that a} marketing campaign mannequin was a great return on funding, and barely use that form of language once they do remark. Loewe isn’t any completely different. However the label’s enthusiasm for its Karol G marketing campaign a half-year after its launch is telling, nonetheless. “The collaboration was extraordinarily profitable,” mentioned Loewe’s Smith, citing the 45 million impressions that her marketing campaign publish yielded on social media and the truth that “the sun shades she wore [in the campaign] have been an enormous [commercial] hit.”

Predictably, the Loewe partnership introduced Karol G to the eye of different manufacturers. “Working with Loewe opened the door to every little thing else taking place now. After that, we acquired invites from many different designers, vogue magazines and runway exhibits,” she says. “It’s loopy.”

In June, Karol was invited by Jacquemus to sit down entrance row on the French model’s Palace of Versailles present carrying an off-the shoulder robe (“that made a variety of noise,” she smirks). A month later, on the Los Angeles Barbie premiere (the film’s soundtrack contains her observe “Watati”), Emilio Pucci dressed her in a halter-neck crop-top and maxi skirt for the pink carpet.

“You understand, I by no means thought that being trustworthy to who I used to be — not following what’s in or out of vogue and never having to vary myself to get there — would carry me such a platform,” says Karol, noting that the majority of her latest vogue business encounters have helped her to remain true to her fashion however accomplish that in a manner that makes it look “extra elevated.”

Her fashion has positively undergone an evolution over the previous seven years she’s been within the public eye. Streetwear wardrobe staples like joggers, trainers and caps nonetheless make an occasional look however now they’re coordinated with embellished tops, lingerie-inspired loungewear or sultry frocks. Vetements and Rick Owens are the form of labels that pique her curiosity nowadays however she gained’t lock herself into any look that’s reliant on particular manufacturers simply but. “I wish to preserve experimenting,” she says.

That doesn’t imply she’s not aware of the necessity to paint her picture with a level of consistency. To that finish, she’s made vibrant hair a trademark, typically alternating between pastels and jewel tones. She retains returning to some fashion themes too, a tactic that makes it clear she is the one carrying the model — not the model carrying her. Sustaining that strategy will possible enhance her enchantment amongst a sure set of designers since celebrities are hardly ever solid to be a clean canvas.

Karol has described her rising signature look as a “mermaid [who’s] a tomboy at coronary heart.” That duality looms giant within the outfits she wore for her single “Tusa,” for instance. The video for that observe framed her carrying an ethereal floor-length robe subsequent to legendary creatures like a pegasus whereas her efficiency of the tune on the Latin Grammys noticed her command the stage in bejewelled off-road bike racing trousers.

However irrespective of which path the winds of vogue could also be blowing, she says, some gadgets are sacred, like hoop earrings, which she insists she’s going to by no means abandon as a result of they symbolise her roots in Colombia’s city avenue tradition. “I gained’t cease doing one thing that really represents me; I’m very cautious about that,” she says.

Maybe it’s right down to the truth that she continues to be in awe of her personal successes, however Karol G is vulnerable to a little bit of gushing, albeit in a tone that sounds extra humble than sycophantic. It is smart that she’s “vastly grateful” to Anderson for the Loewe gig. Being related to the elite, high-concept luxurious model might assist set Karol other than different feminine reggaeton stars within the eyes of the style business.

A latest comparability with Tini (Argentina’s Martina Stoessel), for instance, one other feminine Latin music artist who has launched reggaeton tracks, noticed Karol G come out on prime. Whole MIV generated by Karol G for manufacturers through the interval of the Launchmetrics evaluation (January to August 2023) reached $95.4 million, greater than double that of Tini who has collaborated with the likes of Maybelline and types owned by Zara’s guardian firm Inditex. Karol additionally beat 4 of the six males within the reggaeton class tracked by the agency.

Why then did it take excessive vogue so lengthy to note her?

It’s true that her latest ascent has been steeper than most however, by 2022, the Colombian artist had already secured her third consecutive 12 months because the most-streamed Latin American feminine worldwide on Spotify. She has been large in that area — the place most huge luxurious manufacturers have shops in at the least a number of main markets — for years. And past the US and Spain, the place she’s been huge for some time, her music has been streamed within the tens of millions in international locations like France, Italy, Germany and Canada, in accordance with Maykol Sanchez, Spotify’s head of artists and label partnerships for the Latin America and US Latin markets.

One purpose for the lag in recognition is that till the 2020s huge manufacturers have been principally centered on the male musicians who historically dominated the reggaeton business. Daddy Yankee’s partnership with Reebok and Don Omar’s with Umbro set an early precedent. By the point Karol G entered the scene in an enormous manner, vogue, luxurious and sportswear giants have been nonetheless warming as much as her male counterparts. In recent times, Maluma teamed up with Dolce & Gabbana and Balmain; J Balvin with Nike and Guess; Bad Bunny with Jacquemus and Adidas; and Nicky Jam grew to become a Hublot ambassador.

Ivy Queen, typically credited as the unique reggaeton queen, was a notable exception in these early male-dominated years of the style, capturing consideration along with her feminine empowerment anthems. Nevertheless it wasn’t till after the male wave of partnerships that girls started touchdown world vogue and sweetness contracts. Trailblazers within the broader Latin music scene like Jennifer Lopez and Shakira — who final 12 months fronted a vacation marketing campaign for Burberry — had way back laid the groundwork for them.

Anitta, Brazil’s funk carioca pop star who dabbles in reggaeton in each Portuguese and Spanish, starred in campaigns for Levi’s and Dolce & Gabbana magnificence amongst others. Barcelona native Rosalía, whose musical versatility has made a few of her hits reggaeton chart toppers, grew to become the face of Pimples Studios final 12 months. In the meantime, genre-defying Mexican-American artist Becky G (who recorded the hit “Mamiii” with Karol G) collaborated with Fairly Little Factor. Karol herself scored a pair collaborations with manufacturers earlier than Loewe, notably Kappa and Crocs. However even these early movers have been a bit late to the reggaeton celebration.

The origins of reggaeton might be traced again to Panama within the Eighties as a type of reggae in Spanish, the place the style drew musical inspiration from Jamaica earlier than evolving in Puerto Rico. It blossomed within the Nineties and early 2000s, because it was blended with American hip-hop, Dominican dembow and different Caribbean musical genres rooted within the African diaspora. Lots of its early artists took fashion cues from US rappers of the time, albeit with a particular Latin streetwear edge.

Within the 2010s, reggaeton discovered resonance in Karol G’s hometown of Medellín, Colombia and town quickly grew to become a inventive capital for the scene. In 2017, her debut album, “Unstoppable,” co-produced with longtime good friend and collaborator Ovy, emerged as a sensation. One observe, “Ahora Me Llama” (Now He Calls Me), that includes then-rising Puerto Rican rapper Unhealthy Bunny, catapulted her to stardom throughout Latin America and in communities within the US, the place almost one-in-five persons are of Latin American heritage, in accordance with the Pew Analysis Middle.

As some artists distanced themselves from reggaeton’s heavier rap origins and industrial clanks, a extra business and melodic sound began gaining traction in cities like Miami, Mexico Metropolis and whilst far afield as Buenos Aires, Argentina and Santiago, Chile, the place native musicians put their very own spin on it. The once-underground style had gone mainstream and so too had Karol G.

“Karol was booming after the pandemic hit. Her music was everywhere in the radio stations right here in Mexico. She had already taken off in our world, however [we knew] she was about to blow up globally… so we wished her,” says Karla Martínez, head of content material for Vogue Mexico and Latin America, who featured Karol G on the quilt of the journal early final 12 months.

At this time, reggaeton’s attain goes a lot additional than the strongholds of Latin America, North America and Europe. Not solely have report labels in Dubai opened Latin music divisions for reggaeton artists to faucet Center Japanese markets however nightclubs in Asian cities like Singapore now promote reggaeton dance nights and new musical hybrids fusing native genres with reggaeton might be heard on radio stations around the globe, together with African cities like Nairobi.

However the more and more world enchantment of artists like Karol G is not only a product of reggaeton. It’s right down to the rise of Spanish-language music extra broadly, starting from Latin pop to Latin lure.

In line with information from Spotify, Latin music streams have surged by almost 170 p.c worldwide over the previous 5 years, with the class’s presence within the Spotify International Prime 50 witnessing a exceptional 90 p.c progress.

“There’s been an explosion of Latin music all around the globe, led by reggaeton, but it surely’s all completely different genres,” says Colombia-born Leila Cobo, Billboard’s chief content material officer for Latin and Español, including that it has been bolstered by music streaming companies reshaping a market the place “there aren’t as many gatekeepers as earlier than.”

“The music itself is extra skilled and higher produced now too,” Cobo provides. “Audiences react to the rhythm, even when they don’t communicate the language. Folks aren’t as fixated on that anymore.”

Certainly, it’s the shift in attitudes towards language that seems to have helped Karol G safe the Loewe deal. “Jonathan [Anderson] instructed me that, although he didn’t perceive what my lyrics have been saying, that the music had a high quality that simply made him really feel good,” remembers Karol, whose worldwide profession has been a very long time coming.

Born Carolina Giraldo Navarro, Karol G auditioned for Colombia’s ‘X Issue’ at age 14 however didn’t get far. Throughout her teenagers, she sang at quinceañera coming-of-age events alongside J Balvin earlier than both made it huge. She spent years gigging earlier than signing with a Puerto Rican label that introduced few successes. At a low level, she relocated to New York and almost deserted her music profession aspirations.

“Karol labored onerous,” says Cobo, noting that now, at age 32, she’s mature and has constructed her success from the bottom up. “She has remained grounded all through her profession, overtly discussing her struggles. I feel that girls see her and say, ‘There’s a celebrity who’s like me.’”

“Apart from, Karol’s not only a reggaeton artist anymore. She’s develop into a pop artist,” Cobo provides.

Being an envoy of Latin American music and tradition doesn’t come with out strain. Though Karol has referred to as herself a “bichota” — a gendered riff on the Puerto Rican slang for a “huge shot” that she reinterpreted as a daring, empowered “berraca” (badass) girl in her tune of the identical title — she readily confesses her insecurities.

“It scares me to suppose tomorrow I might make a mistake, and every little thing might flip in opposition to me,” she says, earlier than hastening so as to add, “however I can’t let that dominate my focus.”

She explains that because the album “Mañana Sera Bonito,” she’s been extra clear about her life, together with intimate matters like sexuality and household.

“I consider {that a} huge a part of the connection I’ve with my viewers has been realness, like displaying my life with out filters,” she says. “I’ve been open and uncovered. I haven’t tried to cover it in any manner. I’m in search of methods to, I don’t know, internalise all of it and say, ‘that is my second, that is how I’m, take a look at me’.”

It’s true that Karol admits the type of issues that others in her place would possibly attempt to cover, even comparatively trivial episodes like how daunting she finds it to navigate the style business’s glamorous occasions. “I really feel a bit out of my consolation zone there. Once I see celebrities and artists [in those situations], there’s a sure etiquette. I don’t know methods to stand, what to say, methods to communicate, however on the finish of the day, I attempt to loosen up and benefit from the expertise.”

It’s exactly this uncooked, unpretentious allure that appears to make her alluring to followers and collaborators alike.

“She’s an artist who has develop into a job mannequin for tens of millions and never been afraid to indicate her vulnerabilities by means of her music,” explains Nina García, editor-in-chief of the American version of Elle, explaining that the choice to function her on the journal’s cowl was a “no-brainer.”

“Her message of a greater day and a phenomenal tomorrow has develop into essential in our fragmented, typically strained world,” García observes. “And her success speaks for itself.”

The business pay-off for the journal “exceeded expectations,” García suggests. “We thought this cowl could be standard, however its attain blew us away, particularly on social media. Her [highly-engaged] followers confirmed their help [and] it was fairly superb.”

As her profile grows, Karol is more and more conscious that her potential to draw top-tier vogue companions from Europe and the US is what helps give her the platform to help designers from Latin America and the diaspora.

“Colombia has globally recognised designers and I’ve had the prospect to see the unimaginable expertise there first-hand at Colombiamoda [fashion week], however what would possibly shock you is that lots of the issues we put on are from small, impartial designers that don’t have that a lot recognition,” says Karol.

“As an example, after I’m on stage, I work with the identical folks from Medellín who make my footwear [and] it’s been beautiful to introduce the work of those Colombian artisans to [international] stylists like Brett Alan Nelson and to attach them. However I’ve been serious about it these days and I feel I can [do more] to assist take their work to the subsequent degree.”

Her entry to Colombia’s dynamic textile and garment manufacturing business results in one other query: what about future enterprise alternatives past modelling-based partnerships like Loewe’s? Does she harbour any ambition to emulate different pop stars turned vogue entrepreneurs by co-designing a capsule assortment or launching her personal model?

“I’m exploring methods to develop my model now, really. I wish to make sure that even when I retire from music sometime, my title stays related and alive in different areas,” she says.

“I’ve learn lots about [American rapper] 2 Chainz’s collaboration with Versace for these sneakers that grew to become so profitable and iconic. It’s mind-blowing that such concepts come from a musician’s thoughts,” she muses. “Yeah, I’d like to have the chance to work with a model sooner or later too.”

“However any model that’s related to Karol G needs to be providing one thing that I can supply to my those that’s genuinely good, constructive, and useful,” she says.

“Then I’d be wanting to share it with everybody.”