Teyana Taylor is putting a spotlight on style without the splurge.
The multi-hyphenate artist opens Chime’s reimagined “Ball on a Budget” series by building a head-to-toe look for under $300 and talking candidly about fashion and finances with Complex host Ashley Nicole Moss.
The launch comes as Gen Z navigates tighter budgets and rising credit use. TransUnion reports that 84% of Gen Z adults ages 22–24 now carry a general-purpose credit card. This statistic is far higher than that of millennials at the same age, while serious card delinquencies are forecast to edge higher in 2025.
Deloitte’s 2025 survey also found that nearly half of Gen Z do not feel financially secure, underscoring why conversations about value and spending resonate. The CFPB, meanwhile, has clarified that Buy Now, Pay Later lenders are treated as “credit cards” under Regulation Z, reflecting how younger consumers finance purchases.
Taylor’s episode weaves reality into a budget challenge that prioritizes creativity over labels. “Your style is who you are and what you put on,” she says in the conversation, framing constraints as a design choice rather than a limitation.
The series pairs themed prompts with spending caps and culminates in a visual collage of the final look, a format Chime developed with culture platform Complex to meet Gen Z and millennial viewers where they are.
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Taylor’s status as a style bellwether is well documented. A Harlem native, she brought uptown edge to New York Fashion Week as Alexander Wang’s hometown muse and has since toggled effortlessly between androgynous streetwear and high-fashion moments. Her 2025 Met Gala look (a tailored pinstripe suit with a dramatic cape created with Marc Jacobs and Oscar winner Ruth E. Carter) nodded to her “Rose in Harlem” era and her roots.
The premiere also arrives during a busy creative year for Taylor. She returned to music with the visual project Escape Room and new videos including “Long Time.” She’s slated to appear this fall in Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, starring alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Regina Hall.
Future installments will roll out through the fall, with celebrity jeweler Greg Yuna on Sept. 23, WNBA guard Hailey Van Lith on Oct. 14 and actor-rapper Joey Bada$$ on Oct. 28, with additional talent—including NFL cornerback Sauce Gardner—set to follow
