Exclusive: Fashion Q&A: Ciara

Ciara has had her share of hot collaborations in the past, and we can certainly expect a few more work-out worthy tracks on her upcoming album One Woman Army in 2013. But it’s her collaboration with Parisian fashion house Givenchy that has been one of her fiercest to date. How does a former tomboy from “hotlanta” become the muse to fashion’s hautest designer Riccardo Tisci? Ciara fills us in on the details here.

ESSENCE.com: Let’s chat about you becoming Riccardo Tisci’s muse. How did that come about?
CIARA: Well, it was almost three and a half years ago, and Riccardo and Givenchy reached out to me to perform at Fashion Rocks Rio in Brazil. I met him for the the first time there, and from then on our relationship began to grow and build. He really embraced me, and we’ve been friends since then.

ESSENCE.com: How have both of your artistic styles meshed?
CIARA: It’s cool because with Riccardo I take risk sometimes, and I think that’s what’s been really fun. Especially with exploring in fashion because I love it so much, and it really is an extension of who you are. It’s been fun to collaborate and bring my vibe, my tomboy energy to what Riccardo does. And, truthfully, it is also cool to see his version of how he would do me and how he will approach the tomboy-chic thing of it all. It has been very, very fun, and it’s been experimental and I’ve been enjoying it. I’ve learned so much just by being around him and studying fashion and his in particular.

ESSENCE.com: Has it been reversed where you’ve inspired some of his looks?
CIARA: That’s a good question. I think it’s something he could answer better than I could, but I think he definitely made some things, especially in the most recent collection, that are so me; and it’s so dope. He is just organically really cool and gets the edginess of it all — the tomboy, little rock’n roll kind of vibe. He’s organically being him, he’s always had edge. I met someone who always had edge and kind of pushed against the grain a little bit.

Check out the gallery for Ciara’s favorite fashion moments.