Mary J. Blige, a music icon for over three decades, is set to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in October. However, respect wasn’t always given to her.
In the new docuseries In Vogue: The 90s, Blige, 53, and stylist Misa Hylton share a jaw-dropping incident from the early ’90s, revealing the challenges they faced while starting out.
“Mary J Blige is the first artist I ever styled,” Hylton says in episode 5, which is titled “Hip Hop Takes Fashion.” “When we met, we automatically got each other, We understood each other. We loved the same fashion. We loved hip hop. We loved style. So at this time, the early ’90s, we were making money, and we were able to shop and able to buy things that are more expensive and more luxury.”
Blige adds: “I’ve been in a lot of stores with Misa. We were shopping so much because we never had a lot. Once we were able to shop and get the things we wanted, we were blowing our credit cards to smithereens.”
Despite their rising status, the then-emerging queen of Hip-Hop R&B, Blige, and her stylist found that wealth didn’t always grant them immediate access to luxury, as reported by PEOPLE.
“We went to a boutique and we were shopping,” Hylton continues. “When it’s time to pay, the sales associate keeps telling us. ‘The card’s declining.’ They keep trying.”
“We call the credit card company. The card’s not declining. It’s actually not even being rung. Like, ‘Oh, okay. You don’t want us to buy these items.’ It’s because we were young and we were Black, and they could not figure out how we were spending this much money. They didn’t even realize who Mary J. Blige was yet, and so you see how luxury fashion brands didn’t really value us or didn’t respect us. They didn’t see their brands on us.”
Blige, who has since sold millions of records and won nine Grammys, recalls the boutique incident saying, “They were rejecting us… treating us like little street kids.”
She noted they were not treated with the respect they receive today. The episode of In Vogue: The 90s also features fashion recollections from Tommy Hilfiger, Naomi Campbell, Missy Elliott, and Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, with Blige and Elliott discussing their groundbreaking 1998 Vogue fashion shoot with Lil’ Kim.
In Vogue: The ’90s is now streaming on Hulu.
