photography MARVIN “TADA” LLANTADA
It’s 112 degrees in Las Vegas. The kind of heat that warps timelines and lip liner. On set for her breakout video “Main Character,” Chxrry isn’t just starring, she’s commanding. The viral single has already soundtracked thousands of TikToks and is quickly becoming a Gen-Z anthem. Now, the visual moment is in the hands of Mowalola Ogunlesi—designer, creative powerhouse, and after this, first-time music video director. “I feel like I’m a bit mentally ill, but sassy, funny, sexy,” Chxrry says, perched between takes. “I had to go to somebody who I knew understood that. Me and Mowa, we just get it. I don’t have to explain anything.”
For Chxrry, the first female artist signed to XO Records, this is a pivotal moment in a breakout year. She’s toured globally with The Weeknd, appeared onstage with Rema and Mariah The Scientist, and earned praise from Billboard, ESSENCE, and Rolling Stone. With her debut album on the way, this video feels less like a career milestone and more like a cultural one. “This one had to be daring and empowering,” she says. “And working with Mowa… it just made sense.”
Mowalola, who blurred the lines between runway and performance art with her Dirty Pop show last year, where she debuted original music live on stage, isn’t just designing fashion anymore. She’s building immersive worlds. “I realized music is literally the most important thing to me,” she says. “I grew up with MTV—Missy Elliott, Aaliyah, everyone. Now I’ve figured out how to combine my love of creating with my love of music.”
And although she’s not a director by trade, she’s clearly a natural. “I’m actually not a director, but I could be a director’s director,” she says. “I just know what to do.” Shot over 24 hours in the heat and haze of Vegas, the video is all instinct and synergy. No pitch deck. No lengthy treatment. Just trust. “We’re like tools for each other,” Mowalola says. “We just work. It’s natural.” “Mowa saw me at a party and said I looked like a vixen,” Chxrry adds. “She was tapping into the shit I really like.”
The result? A world that feels hyperreal and hyperpersonal with fashion as storytelling. “People don’t realize how important clothes are,” says Chxrry. “Each one of us played our role so well that this video is going to be amazing. We supported each other.”
This isn’t a vanity piece. It’s a legacy builder. “I really hope ‘Main Character’ is something people can reference 10 years from now,” Chxrry says. “Even if everyone doesn’t get it right away, the fact that Mowa and the team understood it. That meant everything to me.”
As for whether this is a one-off or the beginning of something deeper? They’re not giving too much away. “Wait and see,” Chxrry says, grinning. “You guys are not ready.”
