Camila Cabello's Happy She Doesn't Have to 'Worry About Matching a Group Look' Anymore

Camila Cabello is loving life as a solo artist.

For four years, the now 20-year-old was one-fifth of the girl group Fifth Harmony. But in December 2016, she surprised fans and her fellow group members by simultaneously announcing her departure from the group and plans to break out on her own. Now, the “Crying in the Club” singer is more than embracing her new freedom. She’s absolutely loving it.

Not only does it afford her the opportunities to explore who she is musically—“I’m currently on a summer tour with Bruno Mars, and next, I will be putting out a few songs from my set that will also be part of my album,” she tells PEOPLE—but she also gets to show a whole other side of her style.

Whereas before she had to conform to matchy-matchy looks with her four other bandmates, now she can do whatever she wants on the red carpet and on stage. “As a solo artist, I don’t have to worry about matching a group look, which can be quite challenging because you have to fit with everyone else,” she says.

And that means more opportunities to show off how her personal style has grown.

“I think my style has evolved because I’ve evolved as a person,” she says. “I’m always growing and recreating myself, and because style is an expression of how you feel, my style has changed like I have. I’m more comfortable in my own skin now and I don’t feel like I have to do as much to feel good. I could wear jeans and a T-shirt with no makeup and feel just as good as when I’ve been in hair and makeup for two hours and wearing a fancy dress. It’s all about feeling comfortable and feeling like yourself.”

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One of her favorite trends to try these days? “I love crop tops because when I dance or perform on stage, I [move] my waist a lot, and it makes the movements more visible,” she says. “I also love cut-out jeans because you feel free but you’re still wearing pants!”

Her confidence in her solo look also landed her a gig as the new face of Guess Jeans’s fall 2017 campaign. “I’ve always been such a fan of Guess and the timelessness of their style,” she says. “They are all about keeping it simple and feeling confident and sexy in your own skin. I am a causal girl at heart and love the classic feel of Guess. It was really meant to be and I can’t believe I’m now a Guess girl!”

Her favorite shot from the campaign is the one in which she poses alongside model Alessandro Dellisola. “Ale were on the motorcycle bike, and I was wearing a turtleneck, some jeans, and a ribbon around my head—that’s a very me look,” she explains. “I also got to pretend I had a boyfriend for an hour!”

And while posing with hot models in cool clothes was fun, for now, she continues to focus on her music. “I just want to keep living experiences and then writing about them,” says the singer, who has an album on the way. “I’ve put everything into this album. I’ve opened myself up to this music and I think when you hear it you can see that this is all really coming from my heart.”