The high-profile rapstress wore a dramatic black gown made by Chinese designer Windowsen.
By Amber Corrine
Staff Writer, News
Cardi B‘s show-stopping gown at the 2024 Met Gala was definitely a conversational piece, and now the narrative surrounding the dress has changed a bit.
The global superstar caught flack for forgetting the name of the designer who created the fashion masterpiece, while speaking on the garden-esqué carpet. The dramatic black ensemble was designed by Chinese seamstress Sensen Lii who owns the fashion brand, Windowsen. But due to commotion caused by the larger-than-life dress, Cardi claimed her “mind was racing” and she forgot how to pronounce the designer’s name.
The 31-year-old spoke with Vogue where she was asked the expected question of “Who made this?”
“I feel amazing,” Cardi started before seemingly struggling to remember the designer’s name. “It’s this amazing designer. They’re Asian and everything.” However, her lack of remembrance helmed much backlash for her.
See the interview below.
“Cardi b not remembering the designer who spent 3 months making her met gala dress and just referring to him as ‘asian’ is just sad and disrespectful,” one person wrote on X as another said, “Forgetting someones name is not a crime. Ppl love to attack over little things.”
Following the embarrassing moment, Cardi took to her socials to not only explain why she forgot Lii’s name, but also shout out the designer multiple times in appreciation.
“I want to make this very clear, right, first thing’s first,” she began in a video initially posted on Instagram and now circulating on X. “When I was on the red carpet, I was very scared because the dress was supposed to be on a little podium and I’ve been practicing how to pose on the podium, but at the carpet I wasn’t allowed to use the podium. So I had a lot of things on my mind and I was being rushed to the front of the line.”
“So when I was getting interviewed, I kind of forgot to pronounce the designer’s name because his name is a little bit complicated,” she further explained. “So I was like, ‘Damn, how to pronounce his name!’ Like, my mind was just racing.”
Cardi B responds to former director of Vogue after he called her out for forgetting to name the designer and referring to him as “asian or whatever” pic.twitter.com/XI9QzyJJpm
Speaking to why she said “Asian designer” instead of a specific ethnicity, she insisted that she did not want to offend anyone.
“I said ‘Asian designer’ because I knew the designer was Asian but I didn’t, I wasn’t sure what nationality the designer was,” she continued. “And I feel like it’s offensive if I was to be like, ‘Oh, some Chinese designer’ or ‘some Korean designer’ or ‘some Vietnamese designer.’ I don’t wanna get somebody’s nationality mixed up.”
The Grammy-winning rapper — who needed seven people to carry her dress up the Met stairs — then followed up with a repost of the dress and gave Lii the proper credit he deserved.
“I have to give another thank you to @windowsen I chose you because of your amazing talent and you came through really making this Met Gala a night to remember @sensenlii,” she wrote. Lii responded with a repost of her sentiments, adding, “Thanks @iamcardib.”
As this year’s Met Gala theme was “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” with a dress code of “Garden of Time,” Lii shared the inspiration behind the dress with ET.
“I associated fertile, black soil with the theme — like the rich earth used for planting crops and flowers,” he explained. “The design is floral, reminiscent of a garden’s trees, flowers, and earth. The whole dress uses nearly three thousand meters of organza and consists of an inner and an outer layer.”
Lii also shared that the dress took two months to come into fruition with his entire studio intensively working around the clock.
“Designing for an artist like Cardi B is such an honor but also filled with uncertainty for me,” he expressed. “With so many options available for such a high-profile artists, the final decision on what to wear might not be made until the last minute. It remains uncertain until she actually walks the red carpet. I also flew to New York for the fitting and some final touch up of the dress.”
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