Olandria Carthen Manifested Her Pat McGrath Collaboration

Olandria Carthen has never treated jewelry like an afterthought. Long before she became one of Love Island USA’s breakout stars, she was a kid who wore a ring on every finger—so many, in fact, that she tells Marie Claire her classmates called her “grandma.” “I love jewelry,” she says. “I really feel like glam and accessories go hand in hand. It could either make or break an outfit.”

That instinct followed the self-described “Bama Barbie” into the villa, where Carthen wore Pandora alongside colorful swimsuits, statement heels, and ever-changing beauty looks that became part of her signature. Now, that relationship with Pandora has come “full circle.” Carthen stars alongside Pat McGrath in the campaign for the new Pandora x Pat McGrath collection, which brings the legendary makeup artist’s maximalist beauty universe to jewelry through lipstick, lips, and heart motifs. It’s also a partnership Carthen had manifested: After meeting McGrath last year, she publicly talked about wanting to work with her.

“To be a part of this campaign and be the face of it alongside Pat McGrath—the icon, the mother of all mothers—is insane,” Carthen says. “It has been so surreal.” Ahead, she talks about working with McGrath, her history with Pandora, dressing according to her mood, and why the right accessories can make almost anything look expensive.

Last year, you said meeting Pat McGrath felt like a dream and that you were hoping to work with her one day. Why were you such a fan?
Pat McGrath is so iconic. Her work has always been referenced and will be referenced for years and decades to come. To be able to meet someone like that and feel the warmth, the energy, the overall aura from her, I was like, “Wow, it would be a dream of mine to work alongside someone like this.” We don't have huge representation like her in these spaces for us Black women. So to be able to stand alongside someone like that and partner with her and Pandora in this moment in time felt like a dream.

Was there something that you and Pat McGrath bonded over when you first met?
We were just gushing over each other; we were both huge fans of each other. Immediately, she's like, "What's your number? Here's my phone. Put your number in." I never imagined that being my reality.

I didn't expect that video to go so viral everywhere. All of a sudden, my Ola Dolls were in the comments like, "Oh my gosh, we would love a collab of some sort." To have so many people already being supportive of whatever the collab would be was so eye-opening and so inspiring for me. So for me to be able to be a part of this, it's just been like, “Wow, they're going to love this.”

What was it like going from admiring Pat McGrath’s work to working with her for this campaign?
It was a pinch-me moment. When my team brought that information to me—like, "Hey, you're going to get to be alongside Pat in this release with Pandora"—I was just like, "No way. No me." I almost felt like I was dreaming. I was so happy. I've never said yes so fast in my entire life. To be on set with her and the Pandora team, I literally could have just cried. Everyone was so nice. I never felt so confident on set before. It didn't feel like I was in reality at all.

Her always pouring into me, saying that I'm doing great, supporting me and everything that I do, means so much coming from someone like that, who's been in the industry for quite some time.

What character did you take on for this campaign?
The strongest woman I can imagine. Standing alongside someone like Pat McGrath, who's had so much skin in the game, who's been around for a long time, making waves in the industry day in and day out, you couldn't go in being a little girl. I had to be like, Okay, I got to put my grown woman pants on and really stand because I'm standing next to an icon here. I had to bring my A game.

You’ve been a Pandora fan before this campaign. Do you remember your first piece from the brand?
It was a charm bracelet. Growing up as a kid, you always saw all the girls at school with these beautiful Pandora charms documenting all their milestones. I always loved the thought process behind those charms. Growing up, I always wanted one. And the moment I was able to get one from my mom for Christmas, I was so happy.

My very first charm was a Gemini symbol because I'm a Gemini. And then another one was a makeup charm because I used to love being dolled up. It was a big moment for me, and I used to wear it all the time. As I started graduating and reaching milestones, I would always get another charm, like a graduation cap. So it would literally be glued to my arm.

Being a fan of a brand, and actually being able to work with that same brand, makes you want to deliver times 10 because it's like, I love y'all's brand so much. And for them to choose me as a talent, to be able to be the face of this certain campaign, is my dream.

Pandora often talks about the symbolism of jewelry and collecting pieces as mementos. What is the most sentimental piece of jewelry that you own?
The ring that my grandmother gave me. It holds so many memories and so much value. I really feel like jewelry that's passed down from generation to generation... [these] are such important pieces, and I think that's where my love for jewelry really came from. And just the thought of being able to pass those same pieces down to your daughter one day.

You’ve talked about taking an inexpensive swimsuit and turning it into a whole look with heels, jewelry, and sunglasses. What part can accessories play in putting an outfit together?
Going on a show like [Love Island], you're going for at least two months, and you know how expensive it is to try to buy two months' worth of clothes with a nine-to-five job? I couldn't afford it. So I had to think quick. I'm like, "You know what? I'm going to accessorize it. I'm going to distract you so hard so you don't even realize it's the $8 bikini because you’re so obsessed with my shades or my cute heels."

You'll be amazed what tailoring and accessories can truly do to an outfit. So that was me all summer in the cheapest bikinis you can imagine, but the heels is what kept the people coming back like, "Wow, look how she pairs it with those heels." I'm like, "Yeah, and this bikini is like $4, you don't even know it." Accessorizing has always been something I've done because I didn't [always] get to buy the most quality pieces. The way you accessorize can really take an outfit from plain to chic immediately.

You‘ve rejected the idea that a woman needs one signature style or look. You’ve been a “Bama Barbie” for Coachella, you’ve channeled Dorothy Dandridge, Old Hollywood for the Golden Globes. How important is that personal expression to you?
It is everything. I really feel like fashion is all about self-expression. It's all about finding your own identity. We're not made to follow trends. I've never been a fan of that. I kind of always wanted to make my own thing. If I like a trend, I'll put my own twist to it where I don't have to look like everyone else.

Depending on my mood, that's how I'm dressing. If I'm feeling down in the dumps one day, I'm like, "You know what? I'm feeling a black outfit for today." If I'm happy and I'm feeling excited, you see bright colors, you see patterns, you see different silhouettes. We're not meant to be put in boxes when it comes to fashion. We should be able to do anything and everything we can do to express ourselves in ways that we want to. So I'm not a fan of putting myself in a box when it comes to fashion. It's not there for that.

As a viewer, you also never know what to expect from you fashion-wise.
A lot of my supporters are like: Olandria is making this fun again. Knowing that she's coming to the carpet, none of us can really guess what kind of hairstyle she's going to have, what kind of glam she's going to have, what kind of dress she's going to have on, or what outfit she's going to have. That's exciting.

Imagine if I was so predictable, you predict my outfit every single time, my glam, my hair. Where's the fun in that? Being able to show up one day with a mullet, to be able to show up one day with heavily curled hair… It's just so fun because you never know what you're going to get. I don't even know what I'm going to get.

[When preparing a look, I think:] What haven't we done yet? What color haven't we brought to a carpet yet? What kind of hairstyle have we not done yet?

It seems like you love to play dress-up.
That is so accurate. As a little girl, I've always loved playing dress-up, whether that's me raiding my mom's closet, dressing up in her heels or her clothes, or just doing that with my own clothes. It's always been a part of my world.

As a kid, I used to have rings on every finger, and my classmates used to call me grandma because grandmothers used to wear rings on every single finger that they had.

Growing up, I've always wanted to be someone's personal Barbie. So to be able to play dress-up for a living now is so exciting, and it's so fun. I have such a great time when events pop up on my schedule, to be able to sit down with my team and be like, "What's the mood board? What should we do?" Just recently, at the Casablanca show, me choosing to wear that jacket backwards, I just love the different things that you can do with different clothes. Wear them differently, whether it's inside out, upside down, backwards, or whatever.

You’ve said your love of dressing up goes back to childhood and watching your mom get ready. What about it was so inspiring to you?
Seeing her confidence start to shine as she's coming to the end of her routine and getting her clothes on, the way she's looking herself in the mirror and how she's coming alive in these clothes. I always admired that. I'm all giddy in the corner, excited because I can't wait to tell her how beautiful she is by the end of the entire process.

As a kid, you love seeing your mom happy and feeling good about herself. You can see her really feeling herself; she's moving and doing her little happy dance in the mirror.

Those moments were so small then, but meant so much to me at the same time. When she's gone, me raiding her closet and doing those same little moves in the mirror to make me feel good about myself as well, it all played into it. It was a very beautiful experience.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.