Nicki Minaj Named Fashion Rebel at Fashion L.A. Awards
Nicki Minaj’s reign continues. Just days after announcing her Wilhelmina deal, the rap queen was honored with the Fashion Rebel Award at the 2017 Fashion Los Angeles Awards on Sunday (April 2).
Walking the red carpet at the Sunset Tower Hotel, Nicki dropped jaws in a black Versace dress and extra long hair, that fell down to her laced-up boots. It was the perfect outfit for her award recognition, which was presented by Fergie.
[rap-up-photo id=”288112″]
After singing a portion of “Starships,” The Dutchess brought Nicki up on stage, where Minaj spoke about overcoming vulnerabilities and female empowerment.
“We all have insecurities,” she said. “I want to say, shout out to all of the kick-ass women, not only in this room, but all around the world. You know what, we win and fail in the public eye. That’s not easy to do. People think they know what it requires. People think they can do it. Everybody wants to walk in your shoes, until you put them in your shoes.”
Fergie singing starships accepting her award. pic.twitter.com/1tVxre2cyW
— Team Minaj Support (@TeamNMsupport) April 3, 2017
During her speech, Minaj also thanked members of the fashion world for their acceptance, including Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour.
“A lot of years ago [in 2011], my publicist called me and told me that someone wanted me to be their date for New York Fashion Week for three shows,” she explained. “I was like, ‘Oh, OK.’ Turns out to be some really influential lady in fashion. Her name was Anna Wintour. They really needed me to sit next to her. But I want to say thank you to Anna. A lot of people gave me a shot early on in my career, and I would just like to recognize some of those people who were just amazing.”
The beginning of Nicki Minajs acceptance speech. #FLAs2017 pic.twitter.com/fv1SCpCZJo
— Team Minaj Support (@TeamNMsupport) April 3, 2017
With that, she thanked other designers including Tommy Hilfiger and Alexander Wang. On Instagram, she thanked Fergie for presenting the award and Kim Kardashian, who was on hand to present the Creative of the Year award to photographer Mert Alas.
Beyond gratitude, Nicki also used her speech to reestablish her position in the game, noting that she’s back to make an impact yet again. “It takes guts, it takes balls to fail and to make mistakes in the public eye, and to read shitty comments about yourself every fucking day and to still have a beautiful fucking smile on your fucking face,” she explained. “I love you guys so much for believing in me. I took some time off to rest, and now it’s game time, bitches.”
Game time is already underway. Last month, she dropped a slew of collaborations as well as three new singles off her own as a #3PackFromParis. All three of those tracks charted on the Hot 100, giving her the crown for most hits on the chart among women, a title previously held by Aretha Franklin.