Tyla Is Still Playing Dress-Up and Loving Every Minute

At just 23, Tyla has quickly become one of the most exciting new voices in music and fashion is turning out to be one of her strongest notes.

Her rise from Johannesburg stages to Grammy wins has been fast, dazzling, and almost cinematic, and what makes it even more captivating is how authentic she has remained throughout the journey. The South African music star doesn’t step onto a red carpet like someone trying to play dress-up in borrowed clothes; she walks out like someone who has been rehearsing for this moment her whole life, yet still keeps it playful and fresh.

That ease is what sets her apart. While many stars overthink every public appearance, Tyla gives the impression that she’s simply living her life in front of us, whether it’s in a Balmain gown at the Met Gala or in pajamas dressed up with jewelry at home.

She wears her confidence and style as naturally as she sings, blurring the line between stage persona and everyday girl. That’s part of why fashion insiders are paying attention; she is reshaping what it means to be a global Gen Z style icon.

So when she says she doesn’t overthink what she wears, it doesn’t come across as a cliché. It feels real. In her recent Harper’s Bazaar interview, she puts it plainly: “I just go with whatever I feel good in. It doesn’t have to make sense to anybody else.” It’s a statement that makes perfect sense for a woman who once staged fashion shows in her parents’ bedroom and now finds herself performing at the VMAs, attending the Met Gala, and starring in campaigns for Pandora.

Her breakout single “Water” in 2023 changed everything. The song carried her from local performances in Johannesburg to international stardom, and with it came the red carpets, stylists, and endless opportunities to dress up.

Rather than seeing fashion as a duty, Tyla treats it like a game. “Usually, when I work with stylists, I treat it as if I’m playing dress-up with the person,” she says in the interview. “I love to just try on clothes and play around with it so I can figure out what feels right.” It’s the same thrill she felt as a child, taking taxis with her mother to the CBD, buying bulk clothes in black bags, and rushing home to turn them into outfits. Back then, her parents would lie on their bed while she put music on and staged a show. That instinct to create joy through clothes has never left her.

For Tyla, music and fashion are inseparable. She sees them as reflections of the same mood, both evolving in sync. “The more my music evolves, the more my fashion sense evolves,” she says. “Right now, very fun. Everything has been so minimal and beige for a long time. That’s cool, but now I want color. I want patterns. I want bright lipstick. I want fun hair. Because with the music, I’m really having fun with it. I’m making music that you party to, that you have fun with, that you just enjoy. It’s not so serious.”

That sense of fun comes with freedom. Tyla doesn’t lock herself into one image. She has “different versions” of herself and dresses to bring each one alive. On stage, she goes for clothes that shape her performance energy, sometimes girly, sometimes boyish, sometimes serious.

Offstage, she prioritizes comfort. She laughs while recalling a day she went out in a dressing gown with heels: “That was a vibe for me. Incredible.” Comfort, she insists, doesn’t have to mean boring. “I love to dress up a pajama set. I would go with Victoria’s Secret pajamas, but I’ll put my jewelry on and just make it work.”

Jewelry, in fact, is her true constant. Rings, anklets, toe rings, ear cuffs, her nose ring, and especially her belly ring; she wears them daily. “I cannot live without my belly ring,” she admits. For Tyla, jewelry is her identity, expression, and memory. “I love jewelry. Jewelry can elevate you immediately. You could be wearing anything; I wear pajamas and jewelry and I look like I’m dressed up. It can change your whole outfit.”

The pieces hold deeper meaning too, like talismans or ink. “Yes, I think it’s nice to have something with meaning that maybe other people don’t need to know. It can just be fly to everyone else, but to you it means something. It’s almost like a tattoo. People think it looks cool, but only you know what it means.”

The singer’s mother has made many of her jewelry pieces, and Tyla travels with them as reminders of home. Perhaps this is why she feels so drawn to Pandora’s new Talisman collection, which she now fronts. “I’m not going to lie, this is my favorite Pandora collection,” she says with excitement. “The charms are just so beautiful. It looks like everything is handmade. It looks so organic but not too clean, which I love. It’s everyday jewelry but also jewelry that you can dress up—very versatile.”

She lingers on one charm in particular: the pegasus. “The pegasus embodies the power of dreams. My rise was very sudden. I was thrown into the deep end. In the beginning, I was very guarded. I went from performing on bar tables and in clubs to then opening for a whole arena tour.”

Her career has already been marked by iconic fashion moments. The Balmain sand dress at the Met Gala was one of those jaw-dropping looks that instantly became legend. “Obviously the Balmain sand dress that I wore to the Met Gala was insane. Like, what the heck?” she says with a grin. Her VMAs looks, from the performance to the after-party, also rank among her favorites.

Then there are quieter but equally bold choices, like her Palomo Spain look for Variety’s Young Hollywood Party, or the Area designs that shaped her VMAs red carpet presence. Each outfit, she explains, felt right for the time. “I love a lot of the things that I wear because each made sense for the time.”

Still, she doesn’t see fashion as high-stakes or untouchable. For Tyla, it’s a communal process, something she does with her team while drinking champagne and playing music. “When we work on our styling, we have a little champagne, we have music, we play around. It’s literally a dress-up party.” The fun is the point.

When it comes to trends, Tyla’s attitude is equally relaxed. She enjoys participating in them but never lets them define her. “I like playing with the trends. I want to look back and feel like a part of the generation that did all that,” she says. “When I look back and see all those triangle bikinis from the era where everybody had Tumblr and dressed a certain way, I love it. I think it’s fun to participate in trends, but I also like to do things that I feel are cool.” Currently, she loves mixing silver and gold jewelry. What she can’t stand? “I don’t like Labubus. I’m sorry, I don’t. That thing is creepy.”

Her willingness to experiment but also to draw her own boundaries is part of what makes her resonate with younger audiences. She doesn’t pretend to be above trends, nor does she follow them blindly. Instead, she uses them like she uses fashion overall as a tool for self-expression. “I’ve always liked things that felt tailored to me, whether it be style or music,” she explains.

“Specifically with music, I have so many influences and so many different types of music that I love that I wanted to incorporate into one sound that felt like me—tailored to me.” That tailoring is what connects her art to her identity, ensuring that everything she puts out feels authentically Tyla.

Her story is also one of accessibility. She has worn couture gowns on global stages, but she began with hand-cut, reworked pieces made from budget clothes at home. She still makes jewelry and outfits feel personal, no matter how expensive or elaborate. It’s this blend of resourcefulness and glamour that makes her stand out. She embodies a new kind of style icon; one who isn’t locked into luxury labels or trends but instead embraces individuality.

“I like so many different things that I almost treat them as separate characters,” Tyla says. And that’s the heart of her charm. She doesn’t seek to present a singular version of herself. She celebrates all her versions—comfortable, bold, experimental, glamorous, simple. Her fashion is as dynamic as her music, and both continue to evolve as she grows.

For fans, the lesson in Tyla’s approach is simple. Style doesn’t need to be consistent or logical to anyone else. It only needs to feel right for you. Whether it’s mixing metals in your jewelry, experimenting with a new hair color, or walking out the door in a dressing gown and heels, self-expression is the only rule that matters. The “Water” crooner is living proof that confidence transforms even the simplest outfit into something unforgettable.

And perhaps that’s why she resonates so deeply. Tyla is a Grammy-winning global star who still sees fashion as a game of dress-up. She’s a trend-conscious but trend-defying voice who doesn’t mind being part of the moment while also setting her own pace. She’s a young woman who wears jewelry like tattoos, with private meanings hidden inside public beauty; who still plays dress up. Tyla is proof that the best style isn’t always perfect but fun and creative.

Photo: Instagram/tyla