This is The Close-Up, where the biggest names in entertainment explain the story behind their latest personal style statement.
Some performers assume an alter-ego before they walk onstage. They gain confidence by "becoming" someone else. Colombian artist Karol G, on the other hand, amps herself up by dialing in to where she came from.
"I dance, I pray, and I remind myself of the girl who started singing in Medellín with big dreams," she tells me in an email. "I call on that version of me—the one who didn’t have fame, but had faith." Then, she takes a deep breadth and remembers "You’re here for a reason. Go make them feel something."
That's an understatement for what she achieved during her two-song set at the 2025 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. She was as much of an attraction on the runway as Bella Hadid and Alex Consani as she performed her hits “Ivonny Bonita” and “Latina Forever,” tracks that propelled her to a historic 2024 tour and coinciding Netflix documentary.Shoulders were swaying in the audience; the energy in the room noticeably rose a few notches as she danced around a drummer at the center of the runway. "That's my GIRL!" one guest shouted as Karol G hit her last pose—in her own set of red wings.
That Victoria's Secret Fashion Show signature only came out during her big finale, as she walked to the end of the stage. Otherwise, Karol G performed in her own twist on the peek-a-boo silhouettes and bombshell glam embellishments the event is known for: She wore a long-sleeve, red lace bodysuit, coated in baroque clusters of intricate red crystals, with a chili pepper satin wrap around her waist.
Going a relatively covered-up route was intentional. "For this performance, I wanted to explore a different kind of sensuality. One that doesn’t come from showing skin, but from owning presence," she explains. "The entire look is red, a tone that feels like passion, confidence, and danger all at once."
"Because my set was more intimate and emotional, I wanted to let the shapes, movement, and energy of the outfit do the talking," she adds. "It’s elegant, powerful, and mysterious, like a woman who knows exactly what she carries inside."
The singer tells me it took several rounds of fittings and experiments with fabrics to nail the exact effect she wanted. "I’m very detail-oriented with everything. I like to understand the construction, the way the light hits," she explains. "We probably adjusted the look five or six times, even last minute changes, until it felt perfect. Not only visually, but emotionally. When I finally saw it under the stage lights, I knew it was the one."
The final outcome reflects the four pillars Karol G builds every onstage outfit around, regardless of the venue or set list: "strength, sensuality, charisma, and soul."
"I love mixing feminine power with raw emotion," she says. "For me, it’s never just about the outfit, it’s about what I feel."
That translates to a palette of "tropical tones" and tactile textures like silk, feathers, leather, and crystals. Like her shimmering bodysuit, the silhouettes never get in the way of allowing her to move onstage. "Every piece needs to carry rhythm, just like my music," she writes.
Her onstage beauty takes a similarly strong-but-soft balance. She modified the Angels' bombshell blowouts in favor of effortless, undone waves. (Karol G describes them as exuding "ocean energy.") "Radiant" could also apply: "My makeup had hints of gold and sun—a reflection of how I feel right now. "
Like other Victoria's Secret Fashion Show first-timers, the point of performing wasn't only about wearing a custom outfit or a set of larger-than-life wings. Representation was what mattered to her.
"For me, this moment is bigger than fashion; it’s a statement of how far we’ve come, and how much further we can go when we lead with authenticity," she says. "It means showing that a Latin woman can headline one of the most iconic stages in the world. It means that dreams are reachable."
The girl who started singing in Medellín all those years ago would be proud.
Photographer Alex Loucas | Stylist Brett Alan Nelson | Hair Stylist Cesar Ramirez | Makeup Duvan Alexis Foronda Pérez | Location Steiner Studios in Brooklyn, NY
