The accessories are perfect for those looking to hop onto the butterfly‐inspired style trend that has recently re‐emerged out of fashion’s nostalgia for the aughts. Carey herself serves as the blueprint for the look; since the release of her 1997 album Butterfly, the singer has faithfully worn the winged symbol like a good luck charm, be it through subtle ways such as a ring and a brooch, or more pointedly with vibrant butterfly tops.

Carey’s affinity with butterflies is anything but superficial, however. Butterfly was born out of a period of transformation in the artiste’s life. She wrote it amid her divorce from former Sony music executive Tommy Mottola. She broke out of the cocoon of her “pop singer” label, injecting the songs in the album with fresh hip‐hop influences that showed off the many colours of her musical artistry. And she spread her wings, embracing a sexier way of dressing that denoted the freedom that she had found in her life.

Read more: 6 Style Lessons From ‘Mean Girls’ That Are Still Relevant Today

“Getting to that album was such a journey,” Carey reflects. “In retrospect, it wasn’t even as long as it felt back then. [On Butterfly], I felt like I could really be honest. I had [written] lyrics before, but not in [that] way. Even the videos had a whole different vibe, and it just became this moment.”

That moment is now being celebrated, 25 years later. Butterfly, having gone platinum five times, is being reissued this year, along with remixes of the single Honey and a documentary on the making of its music video. “It just happened by accident that my [Butterfly] album is being re‐released while all this is happening,” Carey says, referencing her timely, two‐part Chopard collaboration, which essentially immortalises her musical legacy in sparkling stones. “I don’t know, I believe in stuff like that. I think everything happens for a reason.”

While Carey has made her mark in music in more ways than one—refer to her roster of diamond‐, multi‐platinum, platinum‐ and gold‐certified albums—it is Butterfly that she always goes back to. Or rather, it finds her.

“I don’t know if it’s a meme, but somebody sent a video to me a few times and it’s this interview I did for VH1 during the Butterfly era,” reveals Carey. “I literally say that butterflies are following me everywhere I go, and—this was not planned—a butterfly lands on my finger at that moment and [then] flies away. It made me really happy.”

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