00:00Welcome back, y'all. Monica ain't nobody to be played with. She's not no joke.
00:05Oh, my goodness. I mean, every time that she gets on stage, I have chills.
00:09One of my favorite R&B artists growing up listening to her, Monica, is iconic. I love her.
00:15Yes, she's a beast.
00:16Speaking of a beast and a woman that is holding it down in the fashion game.
00:19Not playing.
00:20Right now, we have the pleasure of having Miss Kalana Barfield-Brown with us.
00:25Fashion expert, especially when it comes to doing things with Target as well.
00:30Kalana, thank you so much for hanging out with us.
00:31Thank you so much, Roxy. Thank you guys for having me.
00:34Of course. First of all, tell us, how has your Essence experience been so far?
00:37Essence for me is always such an amazing experience because it literally feels like a family reunion of distance cousins.
00:45Like, you walk down the street, it's just sisterhood, it's just family. It's always a great vibe. I love it.
00:51Listen, first of all, congratulations.
00:54You're making it happen. You're in Target.
00:56And that's a place, like, listen, I always tell people, Target her.
00:59You know, like, fly with her. Take her to Target, she's going to go crazy.
01:02She's going to love it.
01:02Yes, I love Target.
01:04And to see a sister in Target is major.
01:07Thank you. That means so much to me.
01:08And honestly, it has been the biggest dream come true.
01:13And the support of black women has been just mind-blowing for me.
01:18What was it like being able to be in the process of creating your own line with Target?
01:23Like, walk us through how that even happened.
01:25And for young women that are aspiring to be just like you, what should they do?
01:29Well, I think that for young – I'll start with the last part of the question.
01:33I think for young women who are aspiring to work in fashion or to build a career, I think, you know, if you're starting from the beginning, like, you have to be willing to intern.
01:42You have to be willing to put in work, and you have to do it just to learn the craft.
01:46You can't think that everything's going to happen immediately overnight.
01:50And then I think it's just being super focused on your goals, being someone who's willing to learn and to listen and someone who's willing to just put in the work.
02:02With Target, it was such an incredible process.
02:05It took us about a year for the whole process of my line to come out.
02:09But they were such incredible partners because they let me do me.
02:14They never shoved anything down my throat.
02:16They let me – they trusted my creative process.
02:19Whatever it is I wanted to do, they listened, and we made it happen.
02:23Well, listen, we've got to give you some of her stuff from Target so you can –
02:26Oh, yeah.
02:27Oh, I'm down.
02:28Girl, please, send it over.
02:29I will.
02:30I never say no to clothes.
02:31Okay, never, never.
02:32Ever say no to clothes.
02:34But speaking of clothes and fashion, we're celebrating 50 years of hip-hop.
02:38It feels like the old-school fashion and hip-hop is coming back.
02:41We're back to rocking our baggy jeans and the oversized jackets, which I love.
02:45Me too.
02:46But when you see the evolve, how hip-hop and fashion have evolved, what's some of your favorite moments?
02:51I mean, I always feel like what's old is always new again, so seeing the cycle is always, you know, just interesting.
02:59But right now, I'm definitely kind of a chic, tomboy girl, so, like, I love, love, love, love, oversized.
03:08I love to be comfortable, but I also love to be sexy, so I'll put a pair of heels on with a track pant.
03:14That's been my style forever, but it's also a reference to hip-hop.
03:17Like, when you think about – when I think about growing up, I loved TLC.
03:21You know, and so much of what I see in fashion is, like, what they were doing back then, TLC.
03:28I was like that – that Aaliyah girl.
03:30Yes.
03:30The little crop top.
03:31Yes, exactly.
03:32With the baggy jeans.
03:33It was my favorite thing to see wear.
03:36And then the fellas are keeping it really fly now, too.
03:38Yes, yes, I love it.
03:39I feel like joggers are, like, a big thing.
03:42It's all – and even just kind of, like, a trainer shoe, you know?
03:45It's like a New Balance shoe is, like, the moment right now.
03:48And so I love it because it's all about comfort.
03:50And ultimately, that's what I want to do is I want to be comfortable because I feel like when you aren't comfortable, it never resonates.
03:58Keeps your energy up.
03:59Exactly.
03:59Listen, we appreciate having you.
04:02Let's keep doing your thing.
04:03Don't stop.
04:03We got more performance coming your way, and you need to prepare yourself because Missy Elliott is coming.
04:11And she's going to light up the stage later tonight, and you won't want to miss this.
04:15We're going to be involved, too.
04:16We're going to make sure we get our –
04:17Exactly.
04:17We're going to get our light show on, too.
04:20All right.
04:20But right now, the South has got something to say.
04:23So get ready for Jermaine DeBri, Big Boy, Gucci Mane, T.I., Little John, and Luda.
04:28It's going down.
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