SMT on Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour Fashion
She is one of one.
Where to even begin with Beyoncé’s Renaissance! The superstar’s ninth global tour, which wrapped earlier this week after 56 shows spanning Stockholm to Kansas City, was the highest-grossing tour by a female artist in history, pulling in a reported $579 million.
And the fashion! Staggering is the word that comes to mind. Even in our stepped up tour style time, we haven’t seen anything like what Queen Bey did, serving up new look after new look, show after show — more than a hundred ensembles in all.
Together with the immensely talented stylist Shiona Turini, Beyoncé turned the stage into a runway with intention. She went so far as to tailor her style and choice of designer to the city she was performing in or that moment in time (like wearing all Black designers on Juneteeth). Pause to let that sink in! The work that it must have taken to commission, design, create, tailor and travel with that many ensembles. It’s an incredible testament to the power of fashion.
Harper’s Bazaar has rounded up all of the Renaissance looks here. Scanning the slideshow, I’m struck by both the range (So many pieces from so many major lux fashion houses!) and the similarities that tied them all together. The bodysuits were my favorite, especially when paired with the heels of choice: knee- or thigh-high boots. Beyoncé often layered oversize statement coats with a strong shoulder and cape-like drape. The vibe swung from sultry gowns with thigh-high slits to sharp, armor-like, 3D-printed breastplates. But mostly: The sparkles shined brighter than any I’ve ever seen.
To dive into what this fashion means, and how Beyoncé’s relationship to clothing has evolved, I called up Jessica Andrews, PopSugar’s senior content director of fashion. (She is a fantastic Instagram follow, too, over at @DressUpWithJess.) “I remember when Beyoncé’s first song dropped,” Andrews says, tracing her fan roots back to her grade school days. “I heard her sing-rapping, which is something that she really pioneered, and I have been obsessed ever since.”
Andrews went to Renaissance twice, first when the tour stopped outside of New York and then again in New Orleans. Both times she put together outfits that nodded to Beyoncé and stayed true to Andrews’ personal style. I loved our conversation! And hearing Andrews’ take on everything from the importance of the bejeweled cowgirl hat, to the hand placement on that Loewe bodysuit to what Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex wore.
🐝 And stay tuned! I’ll be spotlighting what you wore to see Beyoncé. (If you haven’t already, submit your outfit and all the thought that went into it — here.)
So Many Thoughts on Beyoncé’s Renaissance Fashion with Jessica Andrews
Please note: Our conversation has been edited and condensed.
Jessica, hi! Before we dive into the tour, I want to understand Beyoncé’s relationship with fashion — how has it evolved?
Jessica Andrews: I don’t want to get dragged for saying this, but as a fashion editor there was so much attention on [Beyoncé’s younger sister] Solange. She’s really somebody who studies fashion and knows designers and always was looking to the runway. We didn’t really think of Beyoncé that way until she started using fashion as a tool for storytelling, which she did in a really innovative way around the Lemonade album [in April 2016]. It was like fashion was a mechanism for her to really communicate, whether it was hidden messages that she was telling or using a certain color that had a special meaning behind it.
In one of the Lemonade videos, she wears a yellow dress that is ruffled and low cut, but then she had the bat that she was wielding. The juxtaposition of this romantic dress and this rage in anger that she was emanating in the video, I thought was really powerful.
During the 2016 Super Bowl, she performed with Coldplay and Bruno Mars. Her outfit was a nod to Michael Jackson’s Super Bowl outfit, but it was also commentary on Black Lives Matter and police brutality, nodding to the Black Panthers.
That was around the time she got the CFDA Fashion Icon Award, too. She’s embraced emerging designers, even now wearing Telfar and Brandon Blackwood. She’s always been very intentional about everything she does, but I think that when she started really having a narrative behind fashion is when I really was paying attention to every single thing she wore.
As a fashion editor, what did you expect in terms of style from Renaissance?
Each Beyoncé album represents a different era and along with that era comes a totally new aesthetic. When you listen to Renaissance, before you even had any visuals, you could feel in the music it’s about celebration. It’s about releasing stress and letting loose, reveling in the moment. I felt like the tour fashion would be clothes for partying and bringing back glamour. I think that’s what everyone craved after lockdown, being able to enjoy each other and celebrate together.
When the tour first started, I was in the desert hiking and I didn’t have service and I tried so hard to get WIFI so I could see the videos. The very first look I saw was from I’m That Girl, which is Beyoncé’s opening performance. It was a metallic moment, the leotard, the thigh-high boots, it really was so glamorous, which is typical for Beyoncé.
I love how she references herself, and builds on aesthetics from previous eras. The leotard is very Single Ladies and she will often nod back to that. Then she has touches that are very distinctly Renaissance — the cowgirl hat, the fringe, that all kind of felt connected to her photoshoot on the horse. There is a lot of cohesiveness there.
Let’s talk about the hat she wore in the tour announcement because that feels like the defining accessory of this tour.
Beyoncé has always been a hat girl. I feel like it’s an homage to Houston, Texas, where she’s from. She really is somebody who never forgets her roots, which is special.
But this hat is specific. If you remember during the Formation World Tour, she had a bigger hat that was really kind of sharper. The rim is really wide and pronounced. It’s a statement-making hat: “I’m here.” Formation is more of a song where I feel like that energy fits. It’s aggressive, it’s in your face, it’s bold, it’s unapologetic.
Whereas the cowgirl hats that she’s been wearing for Renaissance are a lot lighter. They’re fun, they’re playful, they’re festive. You can see the difference between two.
The cowgirl hat is so specific, and so easy to replicate. I love it.
It’s unmistakable — and it’s accessible too, which I think is really an important part of Beyoncé’s image. She is powerful and she is such a boss, and she makes you feel like you are, too. If you think back to Single Ladies, everyone could recreate that with just a leotard. The steps were easy enough that you could join in on the fun. She’s always been inviting in that way.
Renaissance feels similar. Everyone can wear silver or get a cowgirl hat, whether it is expensive and custom or it’s something that you just picked up from Party City. I love that she does that. That’s a big, important part of her brand.
[EH note: Beyoncé’s stylist bought the hat on Etsy — read the great BTS story here.]
Now we have to discuss silver, the shade that has become synonymous with this tour. Beyoncé went so far as to ask everyone to wear silver to her shows during Virgo season. The crowd shots from those concerts are incredible. Again, like you say, specific and accessible. Why do you think she chose silver for Renaissance?
Silver is really special for her. She has worn it throughout her career. The Deja Vu performance at BET Awards in 2006, which was really the performance where people first realized what a great force she is on stage, that a silver outfit. When she did the Crazy in Love album cover, it was a glittering bra with silver metal chains.
Silver is something she’s really embraced throughout her career. And Beyoncé, like I said, she always references herself. She is telling a story over time. Silver is a theme she’s embraced for a long time and it just makes a lot of sense for her to really push it with Renaissance as well.
[EH note: InStyle did an explainer on the astrological meaning of silver, interviewing Sarah Potter, a psychic medium and fellow Virgo. “This is a highly reflective color that helps us to peacefully go within, tap into our emotions and enhance the power of our intuition,” Potter says. “It’s also highly protective and enhances our energetic boundaries.” The whole article is so interesting, you can read it here.]
I want to zero in on a few specific tour looks, beginning with the three glittering Loewe bodysuits covered in hands. That, to me, is one of the most defining looks of this tour. What did you think of it?
With this tour, you have to give so much credit to [her stylist] Shiona Turini. I think Shiona is brilliant, and I followed her career for a long time. Loewe is such an “It” brand of the moment, and this is showing that Beyoncé is paying attention to fashion and the zeitgeist.
With the hands specifically, Beyoncé is such a sex icon. She’s so sexy, so sultry. Out of all the scenes in the concert, this is very sexy. She’s in the bed, she’s singing Virgo’s Groove, which is to me one of her sexiest songs. She actually places her hands over the hands on the jumpsuit with her glove — the hands on the jumpsuit are a woman’s hands, the gloves she wears have the same red nails as the jumpsuit. Beyoncé has worked that jumpsuit into the choreography, which I think is completely brilliant.
This is somebody who loves her body. She celebrates her body. She’s always been proud to be curvy, whether the standard of beauty is leaning more towards thinness or not. Beyoncé has always celebrated her shape, since Bootylicious. To see those hands on all her curves, really owning her body and herself at the end of the day, I think is really powerful. It’s so gorgeous.
What did you think of the Pucci jumpsuit she wore in Los Angeles? This was such a WOW moment for me, and a bit of a departure from the rest of the tour. The head-to-toe styling of it all!
It was absolutely brilliant. This is what I was hinting at before — Beyoncé always had a signature look on the red carpet, a mermaid gown, a lot of metallic. Here, with this Pucci look, you see her really going unconventional, pushing the envelope in a way that we don’t always see with her, which I think is really exciting. This is a look that’s very polarizing. You have people — her fans really — who love it, they’re obsessed with it. Or maybe they don’t get the vision. But I think it was really courageous of her to wear it, knowing that it’s polarizing.
I love that you instead of toning down this really bold, colorful print she goes over-the-top with it. She’s adding on. You have that rhinestone chain in the front and over her hips and then the embellished sunglasses. She’s got the hood on. I think it ties into her really being unapologetic in this era and just owning her look regardless of other opinions.
Beyoncé and her team also went to great lengths to tailor her outfits to the tour stops. I can’t imagine the planning that required.
So much work! I feel like Beyoncé, when she does something, she does it big. She goes full steam ahead. For the Vegas show, the looks were a little bit flashier, they felt in touch with the energy of the city with showgirl references. When she went to Houston, she had the cowboy hat and the camouflage catsuit, which was a nod to survivor from Destiny’s Child.
Even down to the dancers and Blue Ivy’s outfits — she’s our niece in our head! I was really impressed. At the show in New Jersey, Blue Ivy wore a t-shirt that said “New York” — that’s her dad’s hometown. Those small touches made people in the audience, including myself, feel really special. That level of intention — using fashion as a love letter to the location — I think really resonated with people.
Now I want to hear what you wore! Tell me about the outfits you put together for Beyoncé.
I’m so excited that you asked. With her fashion being a love letter to us, mine was a love letter back to her. I went to Renaissance twice, in New York and New Orleans, and spend months and months planning each look. I wanted to, obviously, fit the dress code, but also honor my personal style and nod to previous looks that Beyoncé had worn.
In New York, I wore a custom hat by Kelsey Randall. She is a designer based out of Houston, and she has dressed like Chloe x Halle, who are Beyoncé’s artists. For my dress, I wanted to do silver. Beyoncé hadn’t done the silver directive yet, but I was so inspired by that disco ball so I looked high and low for a dress that felt like a disco ball. And then I had a fan with a textured, poofy look, which was a nod to one of my favorite Beyoncé videos, Partition. She filmed it in Paris with cancan dancers, so that’s why I chose that fan.
Beyoncé famously gets custom manicures, whether it’s a tribute to Jay-Z or her daughter when she was first born, so that was also a style cue I took from her. I got silver as an homage to that album cover. And then we added the bee gem, I’m just so obsessed with it as a proud member of the Beyhive. It’s a custom design from a Black-owned brand as well.
The silver directive was only for Virgo season and the New Orleans show fell right after so I decided to do pink. One of my favorite looks, besides that Loewe bodysuit, is her Valentino pink. And she wore that on stage actually in New Orleans, which was so exciting because I obviously had no idea she’d do that. It’s a sequin gown that had a slit that went up to her thigh, sunglasses, and the knee high boots. It goes back to her being unapologetic and over the top. She has a line in Renaissance that says, “Paint the world pussy pink.” My mom would not be happy that I just said that! [Laughs] That was kind of my inspiration behind that line.
Pink is obviously a color that’s associated with femininity, and Beyoncé makes me revel in my femininity. She makes me feel as a woman that I’m just magical. As a Black woman, life can be really, really tough. And my friends and I talked a lot about this — this is just such a safe space for us. A lot of the stereotypes that are reinforced, all these negative things about Black women you hear all the time, Beyoncé builds me up when it comes to that. I wanted this unapologetically feminine moment, that’s why I went for pink. But I kept the sequins so it felt Renaissance.
What was it like to go to the show in the outfits you picked out so carefully? And be surrounded by other thoughtfully dressed fans?
It was just euphoric. There’s no other way to describe it. In New Orleans, there was a time before we got led into the show where everybody was standing outside and the camaraderie was like nothing I’ve ever felt. These are strangers and we’re complimenting each other! There were people who recreated her Coachella opening outfit, and I remember that show, that show meant everything to me, so I ran over to compliment them. It was really us celebrating her and celebrating each other and just really being as stylish and creative as possible, and then really honoring that in each other, honoring other people’s creativity.
I have to ask what you thought of what Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex wore. I was impressed even Harry had a bit of gray in there, silver-adjacent.
Meghan, Prince Harry, and [Vice President] Kamala Harris were my favorite case studies. They were able to keep their personal style, the way that they typically dress, and add a Renaissance touch.
Meghan has a lot of wardrobe classics, but she’s someone who invests in quality pieces that last, so it made sense that she had that white top. That, to me, felt very Meghan — even the pencil skirt silhouette, but add sequins to make it Renaissance. I loved that, because with my looks, too, as I said, it’s about bringing your personal style to it. So you’re bringing that perspective, but you’re referencing Beyoncé too, and incorporating it.
Prince Harry is actually the man that I referenced. I had a lot of guys asking me what to wear. There are guys that will give you a head-to-toe silver suit but then there are some guys who are like, “I have no silver in my wardrobe. What do I do?” And Prince Harry had the light gray. So he really, in that way, I think gave other guys an option where they could participate in a way that felt authentic to them.
This is such a great point — so true with the vice president, too.
Same thing with Kamala! For Renaissance, she wore a gold sequin button-down shirt and white trousers. I loved it because it still felt like business, which is very Kamala, and it was still a sharp structured piece, but then she had the gold sequins. She took something that’s a wardrobe staple, that she always wears, and added glamor, inspired by Beyoncé. I thought it was just perfect.
I hadn’t considered this combination of dressing to honor someone in a way that also honors yourself. It’s really beautiful.
I think it speaks to who Beyoncé is. She makes me feel good about me. She doesn’t make me feel like, “Oh, I’m not Beyoncé, so I don’t measure up.” She helps me see the magic that I have in my own personality and style and point of view. A lot of people wore something they feel comfortable in, but that was also a nod to her. You don’t have people copying her exactly but bringing their own flair to it. People felt empowered to be themselves. That’s what I think is really special about her.
My thanks to Jessica! You can find her on Instagram at @DressUpWithJess and read her coverage at PopSugar here. Already thinking about what to wear the weekend of December 1, when Beyonce’s tour film hits theaters. Start prepping those ’fits!
🐝 And lots more to come! My next newsletter will feature so many incredible looks that YOU wore to see Beyoncé. If you haven’t had a chance to submit your concert fashion, please fill out this Google form ASAP.
PS: Swifties, if you’re heading to see Taylor in theaters next weekend, check out my newsletter with @TaylorSwiftStyled on Eras tour fashion here. And if you’re in Los Angeles and would like to join me, tickets are still available to the showing I’m going to in Century City. Drop me a note at Hello@SoManyThoughts.com and I’ll share the link. 🫶
PPS: I’m planning on organizing a similar gathering for the Beyoncé movie. Stay tuned for details!
This was such an informative read! I love and appreciate how much time and thought goes into the outfits! Can’t wait to see everyone’s outfits from the concerts!
I thought Taylor’s your grossed more.