Nicki Minaj on cultural appropriation at NYFW: 'Designers get really big off our culture'

With the recent (and long overdue) progression happening in the fashion world—some Paris Fashion Week designers have banned size 0 models and diversity is reportedly at an all-time high this year—now seems like a better time than ever to continue to push the industry forward in terms of representation. Nicki Minaj, who has in the past been no-holds-bar when speaking about the lack of inclusion in these spaces, had a few things to get off her chest during New York Fashion Week.

The “No Frauds” rapper performed at Philipp Plein’s Spring/Summer ’18 runway show and spoke candidly of her opinion on fashion designers’ cultural exploitative tendencies, while making it a point to thank Plein for championing diversity throughout his brand. “Thank you, Philipp Plein, for including our culture,” she expressed on stage. “Designers get really big and really rich off of our culture, and then you don’t see a motherfucker that look anything like us in the front row half the time. So let’s make some noise for Philipp Plein tonight.”

The colorful star-studded audience included Fabolous, 50 Cent, Paris Hilton, Ne-Yo, Bella Thorne, and Tiffany Trump, to name a few.

Other performers for the $7 million “Good Gone Bad” show included Rae Sremmurd, Yo Gotti, 21 Savage, Future and Teyana Taylor, who closed the show with a steamy dance performance, reminding us all once again of her internet-breaking performance in Kanye West’s music video for "Fade."

The 39-year-old designer, who also dressed Floyd Mayweather for his recent fight against UFC fighter Conor McGregor, has acted as an advocate for diversity in fashion over the past several seasons, including hip-hop and rock music stars in his campaigns.

See photos from NYFW: