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It’s not designer, but she likes it like that.
Rapper Cardi B has traded her Birkins for budget items, flaunting a collection of faux fur coats from the fast fashion retailer Shein in a collaboration that has sparked controversy online.
In a new Instagram Reels video that snagged over 11 million views this week, the “Drip” rapper showed off multiple winter coats from the e-commerce site, encouraging her followers to invest in “a good coat” from the retailer.
“Don’t be walking around with that jean jacket you wore in the spring. Or don’t go into the club like, ‘I ain’t cold,’” she quipped in the clip, in which she claimed the “expensive”-looking coats were purchased by her mother “on a budget.”
But fans were divided on her partnership with the controversial company — which recently faced backlash after revealing child labor had been discovered in the supply chain — shaming the “Up” rapper for her clip, some even going so far as to vow to unfollow the recording artist.
“Girl you wear Hermes and Chanel not Shein,” quipped one commenter.
“Cardi know damn well she don’t shop on Shein,” snarked another.
“Are you kidding me. That’s embarrassing,” one user slammed the “Bodak Yellow” rapper.
“I’m tryna figure out if they look that good [for real] or she just making them look expensive,” wrote another.
“A multi millionaire is telling y’all to get Shein,” mocked one person.
“Prime example it’s not what you wear it’s how you wear it,” another argued.
“Omg love! If Cardi wears Shein, I will wear Shein,” exclaimed one user.
“Why is this embarrassing?!” one person clapped back, recalling how Cardi B “used to make videos” talking about fast fashion brands like Fashion Nova or Rainbow.
“Ppl still need affordable fashion & ppl are still shopping on Shein!”
Shein has faced scrutiny over the budget-friendly brand’s impact on the planet.
Last year, Time reported that the label uses “virgin polyester” and consumes massive amounts of oil for production, resulting in an estimated 6.3 million tons of carbon dioxide annually.
One study, cited by the magazine, claimed that the company’s CO2 output is approximately as much as 180 coal-fired power plants.
Also according to Time, workers face workplace conditions that are allegedly unsafe and unethical.
The outlet reported that employees making the cheap clothing were forced to work in buildings that did not enforce safety precautions, and that the company had violated Chinese labor laws.
But the company, founded in 2008, is still a hit among Gen Z shoppers.
Under the brand’s hashtag on TikTok, millions of videos have been posted showing creators flaunting their latest finds on the shopping platform and boasting their behemoth hauls.
While some critics joked that the rapper was landing brand deals to promote Shein because she was supposedly broke, Cardi B was quick to put those rumors on ice.
“People say that I’m surviving off Shein deals and brand deals — wait hold on,” she said in a voice recording posted to X this week. “I want to let y’all know I could wake up tomorrow, sign a contract, and have half of $65 million — or half of $70 million — in my bank.”
In fact, the “WAP” rapper, who just gave birth this year to her third child that she shares with Offset, claimed she spends “about $3 million in a month.”
She even posted the receipts online, sharing a screenshot of redacted text messages of an alleged tour contact that was in the works this fall before she pulled the plug.
“I don’t want to take tour deals until I announce my album because when I announce my album I know they’re going to up it,” Cardi said, adding that 2024 was her “off year.”
“You have to move smart. You can’t act hungry when you’re not.”
