In case you’ve missed, it the ’80s are really, truly back—and Doja Cat is leading the charge.
Ahead of the release of her fifth studio album Vie, out today, the Grammy-winning star has been teasing fans—through her songs, but also her style—about what to expect from her new sonic era. If her lead single “Jealous Type” and recent red-carpet moments are any indication, the rapper is fully embracing the bold, unapologetic energy of the decade. Her latest music video for “Gorgeous,” directed by Bardia Zeinali and styled by her longtime creative director Brett Alan Nelson, doubles down on the aesthetic. The vibrant visual features a lineup of today’s most celebrated supermodels and fashion figures—including Paloma Elsesser, Imaan Hamamm, Anok Yai, Alex Consani, Irina Shayk, Karen Elson, current Bazaar cover star Mona Tougaard, and even French singer Yseult—all dancing along to the infectious pop track.
When it came to the music video’s mood board, both Doja and Nelson had a number of references in mind. While the rapper wanted to channel the glossy excess of vintage beauty commercials, Nelson and Zeinali kept going back to George Michael’s “Freedom! ’90” and considering how they could create their own modern take on the iconic video.
Of course, styling a superstar and a cast of supermodels is no small feat. Ahead, Nelson speaks with Harper’s Bazaar about curating the video’s high-octane fashion—and why his creative partnership with Doja Cat continues to deliver sartorial magic.
How did the concept for this very fabulous visual come first come to be?
Doja was very specific that for this song, she always saw an ’80s version of a TRESemmé or beauty brand commercial—she loved the idea of those old Herbal Essences commercials with the hair and the product or makeup just exploding across the screen. She always wanted it to be that, but surrounded around the idea of beauty within a woman. We were in Mexico taking a very short vacation and we were talking about this. We knew the video was coming and there were a couple of directors we were talking to, but I told her Bardia is the only person that will do this and give it justice just because of his relationship with the fashion industry and just the amazing work he’s done everywhere. We got on a call with Bardia, we talked it through, and then Bardia took the idea and really just expanded it into this insane video. He also has amazing relationships with a lot of these girls [in the video]. The only ones that Doja and I had met prior were Anok, Amelia, and Karen Elson. We were super stoked to bring this to life.
This video really did take me back to when advertisements were actually glamorous and were full-scale productions. And of course, there’s the “Freedom! ’90” element too with the supermodel connection.
Oh, so much. Bardia and I have talked about the “Freedom” video so much in the last couple of years for numerous reasons, and he was like, if we do this, it’s like the new-aged version of what everybody felt with “Freedom” because there were so many amazing supermodels in that back then. We really do have the muscle of the new supers for this, from Amelia to Alex and Anok, but then there’s the people like Karen Elson, and Irina Shayk who are just simply iconic in the modeling world.
What was your reaction to hearing “Gorgeous” for the first time?
I loved the song. Obviously, there’s so much music on this new album that I love and that I’m excited about, but “Gorgeous” is definitely one of [my favorites] because it feels familiar to the music from Doja that everybody loves. It feels so fresh and different than a “Kiss Me More” or “Say So”, even. There’s an element of pop with the undertone of rap that she does so well and it just feels good.
Logistically, how did you go about not just styling Doja Cat, but also 10 models for this video?
I worked for Bea Åkerlund for quite some time, and I learned from her that more is more because it’s safe. I over-prep a lot, and even if it’s something that I’m like, she’s never going to wear it, but I love it—[I always bring it because] it always ends up being the piece that’s worn. I was very nervous walking into [the project] because I have a very strong relationship with all the girls I [regularly] work with and I know them very well. I obviously had a lot of stuff—I think I had 20 racks of clothes and 15 tables of accessories.
I fit almost everyone the day-of, and it was a little manic, but Bardia was an amazing eye to have to help me collaborate with the girls. I love working with a director that knows what they want. There are so many good ones out there, but the [David] La Chappelle’s and the Steven Kleins and the Bardias—they always have this strong vision of what they want to bring to life.
I’m sure the energy was insane!
I might’ve cried, but it was the day before anybody got there.
How did you handle sourcing looks for this video?
There’s something so refreshing about working with the idea of what the ’80s were. Sure, there’s going to be vintage pieces, but there’s so much stuff currently in the last decade of runway collections that is so inspired by the ’80s. I think really the only archival pieces Doja wears in the video are a Mugler red leather jacket and the shrug she’s wearing next to Karen Elson. Both of those are ’80s era Mugler; Mugler is doing a big re-edit of a lot of those collection pieces throughout history as sellable pieces coming in [upcoming] collections. Doja alone wore 10 different looks for this video.
What were the little important details you really wanted to have to make these looks pop?
I definitely thought I was going to be accessorizing more in the beginning, but in a video that’s about female beauty, I started to feel like I didn’t want to do too much because it almost took away from it all. If I put a big hat on someone or earrings, necklace, rings, it just felt a little heavy. But we had some really special stuff, and there was definitely a large array of archival fashion jewelry and new jewelry. A lot of Doja’s jewelry was done with this company called Desert Diamonds—they offer this Fenty palette of colors of diamonds that I’ve never seen before that are so stunning and beautiful. [There was also] an array of different designers, from DeBeers to Neil Lane. There is a black and white scene [in the video] that has these really amazing chandelier earrings that are so beautiful—we had great jewelry.
There’s so much archival jewelry by Gucci and Saint Laurent and Fendi that you can find at rental showrooms. They’re such beautiful statement pieces. I tend to gravitate more to the exuberance of glamour from the ’80s; It was always [about] statement pieces, like a big earring or a big ring or a huge broach. That’s where I landed a little bit when it came to the simplicity.
Doja Cat is obviously someone who, whether on stage, in a video, or in real life, always wants to push the boundaries when it comes to style. Looking back at when you two first started working together to now, how has your creative relationship evolved?
It’s crazy because in the very beginning, she and I were getting to know each other still, but we definitely clicked. I understand her now like she’s my sister, and I think she feels the same way. We’ve been on a really steady flow for a handful of years of just knowing how to work together. I do feel like our collaboration has felt really good and comfortable for quite some time and that we’re in a good steady flow—I don’t know if it’s changed that much.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
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