It’s been a banner week for New York’s music lovers. Some of the buzziest and chicest singers bookended the week with their respective tours. Charli XCX, aka the brat summer founder, painted Madison Square Garden apple green, while, on Sunday, Sabrina Carpenter brought her coquettecore sensibilities to the same arena (and even suggested a similar bows and minis dress code to her audience).
In between, on Saturday, Sept. 28, one music and fashion icon also stopped by NYC to headline the annual Global Citizen Festival: Doja Cat. As expected of the style provocateur, she painted the town red (and a few other hues) with a daring look that was all sorts of headline-worthy.
Doja’s 1920s-Inspired Flapper Dress
Over the weekend, the annual festival tapped several big names to grace the Central Park-built stage including Post Malone and BLACKPINK’s Lisa. Like the rest of the industry bigwigs, the “Woman” songstress delivered a riveting performance. Her ’fit was a paid actor, too.
Doja wore a flesh-tone dress made out of mesh, aka wholly sheer. Instead of baring nip, like she typically does, her torso was strategically covered with strips of silver and gold crystals.
Meanwhile, her skirt was affixed with a dazzling fringe that swayed with every moment. The colors were particularly alluring; reds, teals, and blues created a glitzy kaleidoscope that added to her set’s theatricality. The look was a fun cross between a 1920s flapper dress and Cher’s onstage ’fits.
It Had A Powerful Meaning
Fans who saw the performance online quickly noticed that the dress had a special meaning: the colors of the dress and the subtle pattern on her back represented the South African flag.
The “Get Into It” rapper is of South African heritage (Zulu in particular), so TikTok and X users were particularly tickled pink that Doja used the “Global Citizen” stage to showcase her heritage.
Users flocked to their favorite platforms to praise the performer. One Redditor started a thread saying, “I just love her music and this just made me feel unbelievable[y] patriotic so I thought I would share.” On X, another user said it makes them “happy” how “she’s embracing her heritage so beautifully this year.”
She always serves.
