Cardi B and Revolve Group Announce Exclusive Joint Venture

Cardi B isn’t interested in launching just another celebrity brand, but expanding her legacy — Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar’s legacy. 

Since the Bronx, N.Y.-born rapper’s 2017 breakthrough year in music, the Grammy-winning recording artist, actress and entrepreneur has collaborated with the likes of Fashion Nova, Reebok and NYX Professional Makeup; launched her first owned business, vodka-infused whipped cream company Whipshots; fronted campaigns for Kim Kardashian’s Skims, Marc Jacobs and Balenciaga; appeared on numerous magazine covers; walked the haute couture runways in Paris, and become a style icon for her ability to be a high-fashion and beauty chameleon, both on and off the red carpet.

Now Cardi B is further expanding her empire by joining forces with Revolve Group, the California-based fashion and lifestyle retailer, in an exclusive multicategory venture. The partnership marks the artist’s first owned apparel and beauty brands — and Revolve’s expansion into beauty.

And the partners are thinking big: Through this venture, the collective group has its sights set on becoming a billion-dollar fashion and lifestyle multibrand powerhouse, starting with beauty and fashion brands. 

“People have been expecting both from me. My beauty line, people have been expecting that, like an album,” Cardi B told WWD during an exclusive interview, clad in a custom curve-hugging, tailored white blazer dress — a preview of her upcoming collection. The rapper’s highly anticipated second album is set to release later this year.

“When something is so expected, people want it to be the best, or, they want it to be the worst so they can be like, ‘Haha you don’t know about s–t b—h!’ People expect the best from both fields. We have to come in strong,” the rapper said.

She explained that coming in strong meant finding the right partners and laying the groundwork to create a legacy business that stays true to her authenticity, rather than collaborating with a brand as the face of a product. She cheekily added that she and her creative partners, Patientce Foster, her longtime manager, creative director and Cream Labs founder and Kollin Carter, the artist’s longtime stylist, “do things out of spite,” because “to be better than everybody when you do it out of spite is very motivating.”

“I personally believe that I put a lot of people on a lot of trends. It’s not even about getting paid, but it’s not appreciated. I gotta do this for me because I don’t get thank yous. If I don’t have a good year, I don’t get, ‘How have you been?’ Nobody does that. It’s time for me to do s–t for my own self, not for everybody else,” she said.

Furthermore, it was about finding partners that understand her passion for beauty and fashion; attention to fit, materials and ingredients, and serious dedication to offering her global consumer quality, long-lasting products.

“I could shop every single day, but there’s always that one pair of jeans that I love. There’s that tank top that I love, and I don’t care how many stains are on it, I’m gonna wear it, because I just love it. I want my brand to have that one piece that you buy, that you love, that it makes sense. If it’s a size small, it should be a true size small; if it’s a size large, it should be a true size large,” she said.

“That is very important to me, because I don’t think about me, now, I think about me when I was 20 years old. I’m walking in Fordham [Plaza]; it’s six o’clock and I have a date at nine. ‘What is gonna fit me?’ I want something that fits me; it’s great, and it’s good quality. I could wash it and wash it and wash it, and it doesn’t get washed out,” she said.

Although the artist said nowadays she practically gets all her clothing tailored, she wants to give her customers garments that fit and are tailored just right. Her partnership with Revolve reflects this dedication to not sell any product, but “the best product,” she said.

The venture includes Cardi B and Revolve Group cofounders and co-chief executive officers Michael Mente and Mike Karanikolas and Revolve Group chief brand officer Raissa Gerona. Additional shareholders include Foster, Carter and Jennifer Walker and Adam Drawas, cofounders of PR and brand marketing agency Walker Drawas. 

Revolve Group reported net sales of $293.7 million in the fourth quarter, 14 percent year-over-year growth. It has 29 brands in its Owned Brands roster (which has 158 employees), and last year acquired a majority stake in French couture house Alexandre Vauthier. 

The company is this month gearing up to host its popular eighth annual Revolve Festival in Thermal, Calif., timed to Coachella and filled with celebrity-hosted dinners, performances and activations with their luxury-focused e-commerce sites Revolve and Fwrd. In addition, Revolve Group is preparing to open its first brick-and-mortar store at The Grove in Los Angeles in fall 2025. 

Now it is adding Cardi B to the stable, interpreting her aesthetic for fashion and beauty brands. The joint venture not only builds on Cardi B’s already massive following, but that following should help Revolve Group expand in beauty and on a global scale.

“It’s literally reflecting and translating what we built in terms of Cardi B the brand, the artist, and taking that same synergy and putting that into this. I think some people think that you have to remove your most authentic self to raise your profile, but I think what we’ve been able to do so great is embrace her most authentic self and evolve that without changing who she is at her core. That’s what we’re trying to build in both categories,” Foster said. 

Creating products that are not only respected and trusted in their industries but also effective, curated and timeless were of high importance to each partner from the get-go, added Foster. 

“This is a lifetime brand, this is not a fling or trend,” she said.

It all started in November 2023, when Foster and Cardi B were discussing legacy on the phone. 

“The thing about me and Cardi B’s relationship is we started — with not nothing because she had about a million followers, but in terms of where we are now — from ground level. We know what all of her partnerships have looked like and what all of her success has looked like. I know what value she’s put into brands that she’s partnered with look like, but then I also look at that in comparison to ownership and equity. The biggest thing for me and her both is legacy,” Foster said. 

“We both have children; we both have families, and we’re really big family people. We want to take care of our families and our children. We were on the phone, and I asked her flat out, ‘God forbid if you were to leave this earth tomorrow, what would you be able to leave your children with?’ She said, ‘I am ready and want my own brand. I want it to be owned by me. Yes, I’m Cardi B, but Belcalis, this is mine,’” Foster added. 

Cardi B added that having immigrant parents, she was always instilled with the value of being able to leave behind something for her children. 

“Growing up, my mom would always say, ‘Get a house, get a house, get a house. Get a house so if god forbid something happens to you, you leave it to your future kids.’ Now, the houses are not enough. You need a business, you need something of your own,” Cardi B said. “I have a big career, I’m a big artist and everything. But it’s about what you have to [leave] behind.

“It doesn’t suffice how many number-one [hits] I have, or how big my name is. I mean, I am a legend, but if god forbid something happens to me, I don’t want my kids to be fighting with record labels on how much percent they’re going to get with my music,” she said about the importance of building her own business from the ground up — strategic business moves seen from the likes of Rihanna, Kim Kardashian, Beyoncé Knowles and more — so her children can “eat off everything” beyond music. 

Their conversation paved the way for Foster to go into the marketplace to “find her legacy and brand,” Foster said of seeking a partner who not only excels and exceeds in their category, but “has a good reputation for being good people.” 

“No matter how big Cardi B ever gets, to me, she’s one of the most grounded people, one of the most authentic people and we like doing business with good people,” Foster said. “One thing about Cardi that I love the most is that she knows what she knows and what she doesn’t, she looks for people who are good at what they know. She doesn’t go into situations with ego, like, ‘I gotta be in charge. I gotta do everything,’ but rather, ‘OK, they know what they’re doing,’ and we want those types of partners.”

This led Foster to her Rolodex of contacts, specifically Walker Drawas, the full-service entertainment marketing agency founded by Jennifer Walker and Adam Drawas, who Foster, Cardi B and Carter had worked with in 2019 on the rapper’s multiple sold-out clothing collections with Fashion Nova. Furthermore, Foster had her eye on Revolve Group, a longtime client of Walker Drawas.

“That’s when they say network is net worth because that Rolodex is heavy,” Foster said of a November 2023 phone call with Drawas about partnering with Revolve. Quickly after their initial conversation, Walker and Drawas connected Foster and Cardi B with Raissa Gerona, Revolve Group’s chief brand officer. 

“In about 30 days, we were at the Beverly Hills Hotel having a meeting with Raissa. We got to know each other first and immediately clicked,” Foster, who oversees all creative direction, talent and brand management of the joint venture, said. She also oversees the development of the brand’s overall DNA, design, campaign creative and communication strategies alongside Gerona, Walker and Drawas.

When approached with the idea of the venture, Gerona said she, Mente and Karanikolas’ goal of building Revolve Group’s first beauty brand was already in the back of their minds after seeing strong traction with their third party brands’ beauty businesses.

“On Revolve and Fwrd, we know that we have the right tools to make a beauty brand, but we needed a really good partner to help be the face, but also, really push the category,” said Gerona. “We have the operations, the know-how and capital, but it’s so important now to have someone who’s fueling that and really being the creative.”

Gerona is a big fan of Cardi B’s since the artist is one of the most followed individuals on Instagram and embodies “that b—-h.” She proved to be the Revolve Group’s ideal partner for the multicategory beauty and fashion new venture.

“To have the opportunity to be considered [as her partner] was massive to us and a testament to our reputation in the company that we’ve built,” Gerona said.

She added that having worked with numerous talents on collaborations over the years, the group could afford to be choosy with new ventures. Akin to Cardi B and her team’s values, the Revolve Group desired a partnership with not only high commercial value, but with goals of longevity and authenticity first and foremost.

Karanikolas seconded that statement, noting that while Revolve has partnered with a variety of creatives, they’re always looking for new ones that have a unique creative vision and business-minded approach.

“Revolve has such a strong track record of successful brand-building and really being able to have partners for Cardi that we can give her whatever it is that she’s wanting to create, and also help build and educate that road map ahead,” Drawas explained. 

The venture represents a “bold evolution” for Walker Drawas, he said, and addresses the shifting landscape in relationships between companies and talent from licensing to venture deals.

“We believe that the key to success is bringing together like-minded worlds and nurturing those relationships through structure, strategy and a shared commitment from all stakeholders. This is more than just a new chapter; it marks a profound shift in both the talent-driven landscape and our business strategy — one where we’re investing more time, resources and expertise to shape the future of our industry,” he said. “This is an opportunity for Cardi B to own her own brand and to have a powerhouse team beneath her that is feeding her wishes and dreams.”

Mente added that the biggest difference between their prior collaborations and partnerships with influencers, talent and creatives is the global scale Cardi B’s beauty and fashion brands will reach.

“[Cardi B] has big audiences in Asia, the Americas; that audience translates to Europe very easily, and also Latin America, where Revolve has much less presence. She has an exciting presence in both Japan and Korea,” he said, noting the target age demographic is similar to that of the Revolve world — “call it 20s and 30s,” he said — but also ranges broader due to the rapper’s global audience.

As for the products that will be within the joint venture’s upcoming beauty and apparel companies, he noted that the categories they’re developing stem from Cardi B’s passions and vision, which span beyond Met Gala red carpet looks to the bedroom and the beauty cabinet, as the star is known for her head-turning makeup, dramatic hairdos and extravagant nail art.

“Things that she engages as a consumer and engages as a creator with her fan base just naturally. The things that she really, truly loves. As we’ve seen in times past, that passion, genuineness, authenticity, deep personal knowledge and personal expertise translates to the consumers,” he said of future products.

Carter, who has styled high-fashion looks for the artist since 2017, spanning from her 2019 Grammys archival Mugler look to custom Met Gala ensembles, said his biggest dream is for consumers to look at Cardi’s collections years from now and say, “That’s so Cardi.” Through this joint venture, he will work alongside Cardi to develop her fashion collections’ product design, overall style and aesthetics.

“Creating that through Cardi in the future, we want to take the signature things that we love and that she loves, and put it into this brand, put it behind this brand,” he said, citing body-con looks and corsetry as key styles of Cardi’s running aesthetic and fashion identity.

“There’s something that’s really beautiful about the woman’s body to us, snatching that waist and exaggerating those hips. I think that that’s timeless. If you look back at the ’70s and ’80s, those silhouettes have always been around, so I think that that’s something that we want to carry throughout the brand and in the future, just those signature silhouettes,” he said.

These “so Cardi” moments with the Revolve Group have been popping up over the last year, such as when she debuted Revolve’s first custom atelier ensemble — a red corset gown — as host of Revolve and Fwrd’s Met Gala after party. The rapper also wore a sparkling, cutout Alexandre Vauthier body-con dress to Fwrd’s cocktail party in celebration of September’s Paris Fashion Week; visited the company’s headquarters in the group’s Owned Brands, Helsa, in October, and stopped by Revolve’s December holiday pop-up shop clad in a sheer brown bodysuit, jeans and Alaïa Cardi jacket from Fwrd.

“We’ve been breadcrumbing all these little moments from a marketing perspective, and that’s not just to be breadcrumbing. That’s research,” Walker told WWD. “That’s to see how the audience reacts and it’s been insane with the engagement on both sides. Her fans react well to Revolve and the Revolve customer reacts well to her. That’s all research and development that’s going into how we launch these brands, how we market these brands, and what they’re expecting.”

When asked about the biggest learnings and challenges, each team member agreed that so far, the joint venture has been smooth sailing. Their biggest lessons will likely emerge once collections start launching later this year.

“We have a couple of samples, but when we get the whole [product range], that’s when we’re going to start learning our lessons. I’m the type of person that if I don’t like something, I get really angry. Here’s the thing, when I drop, everything is going to sell out the first week or day, but that’s not the good part,” Cardi B explained. “The good part is when people come back. I want people to come back.”

Being a celebrity brand, the group anticipates the first drops selling out, as seen with her previous fashion and beauty collaborations, so not only is the first impression of high importance but also the follow-up drops.

“We’re long-term minded. I think a lot of people want to do something because it seems fun and cool. People are looking for short-term paydays versus long-term businesses and value and for us, at this point in our game, that’s essential to what a deep partnership like this will always entail as we move forward,” Mente said.

“As Cardi said earlier, it’s really about the partnership. We’re not just thinking about that launch, we’re thinking about years. How we build this for 10 years — not just the first day but the 5,000th day. The first day, we can all do that all the time. That’s the easier part for us,” Mente said.

Now that’s money moves.