Throughout 2019 and early 2020, Lil Nas X embraced a country-western aesthetic for his red carpet appearances and live shows.[1][5] Prior to the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards, Lil Nas X's stylist,
Hodo Musa, told the Los Angeles Times that this would be his final outfit that would reference this aesthetic.[6] She selected Versace because she found their work with hip-hop artists in the 1990s to be inspiring.[5] Lil Nas X told CR Men that the outfit was "trying to deviate from the norm that most guys wear—suit, tie."[7] He liked that the outfit could be "a talking point" and saw it as an opportunity to "get more in tune with [his] flamboyant side."[7]
The outfit consisted of a matching bright pink and gold-studded cropped leather jacket and high-waisted trousers.[1] The top underneath his jacket was black mesh[8] and he also wore a
bondage harness[1] which stylist Shannon Stokes noted was likely an allusion to the 1992 Versace dominatrix collection[9] and which GQ compared to
Donatella Versace's bondage dress.[10] He also wore a pink studded cowboy hat and boots, as well as silk scarves on his wrists.[1] His clothes were patterned with the Versace
Medusa icon, and his jewelry was a mixture of Versace and
John Hardy.[5] Overall, the outfit took over 700 hours to complete.[11]
Reception
The outfit was generally well received by critics. The Los Angeles Times said that Lil Nas X "electrified the celebrity walk."[5]Paper Magazine called the look "undeniably fresh, totally him, and the kind of garment [they] want to stay talking about." Reception from outside the critical community also trended positive,[12] with detractors primarily expressing homophobic sentiments as the reason they disliked the outfit.[13] Bondage gear would become a menswear trend in high fashion in Autumn/Winter 2020.[14]
Lil Nas X's pink Versace suit has been ranked among his best outfits by numerous publications.[4][15][16][17]