How Being a Mom Has Pushed Kehlani’s Style to the Comfort Zone

Kehlani‘s love of footwear has always run deep.

Once the American singer-songwriter’s career took off, she couldn’t help stocking up on all the latest sneakers. “When I got older and started getting my own money and being able to financially support my style, that’s what attracted me to sneakers,” the 24-year-old artist told FN previously.

“At first, I wore mostly Vans because I used to skate everywhere. But living in L.A., everything’s not easy to skate to, so I put the skateboard down and got into things like Adidas and Jordan.”

Even though she continues to climb the charts, especially after releasing her new track, “You Know Wassup,” earlier this month, there’s another major moment in her life affecting her style: Kehlani gave birth to daughter Adeya, who arrived in March 2019. Since then, her outlook on fashion has evolved.

FN chatted with her about motherhood at this year’s Revolve Awards on Nov. 15, which were held at L.A.’s Goya Studios. “It definitely gives you way less time to think about outfits and even be cute,” she told us. “I find myself looking in the mirror and saying, ‘Wow, I look like a mom.’ You can tell. I’m tired, I’ll put on a big T-shirt, and for the most part, I’m super comfy —I have to chase a kid around.”

She may have been collecting sneakers for years, but now she does it out of necessity. “You got me on the mom brain,” Kehlani mentioned. “My go-to footwear now is Nikes. I really like Jordan 1s. [They’re] super-comfortable with great colorways, and they go with anything. You can wear a basic outfit, pop on some Jordan 1s, and you’re good.”

This doesn’t mean she has abandoned going glam. It just takes more effort now. At the event, she was also honored with Revolve’s new SuperShe award, and she hinted there was no way she wasn’t going to go all out to accept it. The honor was inspired by tech entrepreneur Kristina Roth, who sold her company for $45 million and launched the first all-female resort, built off the coast of Finland.

Roth chose Kehlani as the recipient because she believes the star is an influential leader who embodies the progressive female-driven mission of her SuperShe brand. “I definitely had to carve out time since I wanted to do something expressive,” Kehlani revealed.

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nervous and winging it but i meant every word @revolve

A post shared by Kehlani🧿 (@kehlani) on Nov 15, 2019 at 11:06pm PST

During her speech, Kehlani gave shout-outs to the black trans community and pointed out that, in addition to women, it’s equally important to support this minority group. “I want to celebrate them, uplift them, let them know we hear them, we’re there for them, we’re looking out for them, we’re with them and that we stand with them,” she told the crowd. “That’s who I want to dedicate this to.”

For the rest of 2019, she plans to focus on her family. “I love this part of the year because it seems so warm, not weather-wise because it’s cold, but joyous and warm,” Kehlani said. She has her sights set on holiday celebrations and everything that comes with them. “There’s great music, there’s great food, there’s great smells, and there’s lights,” she said. “It’s this energy that only comes around November, December that I wait for all year because it just brings joy. Just joy.”

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