Blink and you might have missed it. Heck, you might have missed it even if you squinted. But Doechii had the most controversial beauty look of the 2025 Met Gala—and I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing.
The rapper turned out to the affair predictably stylish in head-to-toe Louis Vuitton menswear. Keeping closely to the theme, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” she donned a white LV-monogrammed short suit, garnering tons of praise from netizens and critics. At this point, we all expect Doechii to turn a look that showcases the artistry she brings to her music. What wasn’t expected, though, was the prosthetic LV logo on her cheek made to look as if she’d been literally branded by the fashion house—an image that stirred up very mixed feelings among some Black folks, myself included.
Hip-hop fashion is known for its devotion to high-end labels and unapologetic flaunting of logos. This aesthetic, pioneered by Harlem designer Dapper Dan in the ‘80s and ‘90s, initially faced its share of criticism (as trends started by Black folks tend to do in the face of white societal tastes and norms). The world has since embraced it as an expression of artistry and luxury unique to Black American style, and that was on full display in Doechii’s fashion and beauty choices.
For me, the branded cheek recalls an iconic moment in hip-hop fashion: Lil’ Kim’s cover shoot for Interview magazine’s November 1999 issue by David LaChappelle. It depicted the rapper wearing nary but a Louis Vuitton-stamped leather hat, the brand’s logo printed all over her nude body. At first, I thought of Doechii’s Met Gala look as a nice nod to her femcee predecessor and a continuation of that legacy and relationship between high fashion and hip-hop. But then I thought, “Wait a minute… a brand? On a Black woman? This one will definitely have folks talking.”
And it did—some saw the brand in a more sinister light than I initially did. Threads user @freddyourlove raised some concerns about the look. “LOVE me some Doechii… I’m absolutely not into this European logo ‘branded’ on her skin for a night celebrating the labor and ingenuity of Black culture and Black men,” they wrote. “Not reading as subversive from here.”
Some people had a different interpretation, though. “I thought it was a comment on large brands stealing ideas from black creators and branding them as their own… A safe double entendre,” user @greywater commented. “For me, it read as, ‘even the black skin I’m in is designer/unaffordable — as if made by an internationally known brand. You could never afford to be me; I was born into this luxury,’” @xubsdraws added.
