Apart from Adele and Rihanna, no singer can cause louder rumblings in the world of fashion by landing on the cover of Vogue than Beyoncé Knowles-Carter. Scoring the July cover slot of the British edition, destiny’s favourite child clarified that sitting astride a black horse, in the middle of a dance floor, wearing a fitted black dress by French label Alaïa and a sprawling feathered crown, is the height of style.
If side-saddle posing is not your strong suit, inside the issue Beyoncé is photographed by Brazilian Rafael Pavarotti dressed as a disco queen from Xanadu in a pleated dress with planetary earrings from Schiaparelli; as a space age fitness instructor wearing silver shorts from her label Ivy Park; as a club kid atop a mirror ball in a corset and platform boots by Harris Reed.
Beyoncé in the July edition of British Vogue wearing Schiaparelli, Harris Reed and Ivy Park. The shoot was styled by Edward Enninful and photographed by Rafael Pavarotti.Credit:British Vogue/ Rafael Pavarotti
There’s no revealing interview with the private star but here are some fashion and beauty gems mined from the story.
The headdress was made from Met Gala leftovers
If Beyoncé’s striking headdress looks familiar it’s because UK designer of the moment Harris Reed used feathers from the showstopping topper he created for supermodel Iman at The Met Gala in 2021.
The peacock feathers for Iman were gold, prompting comparisons with a crop circle, so Reed bleached, re-dyed and handpainted them alongside milliner Vivienne Lake to create Beyoncé’s crown. The colour change, along with fastening each feather to a wire structure by hand, took 300 hours.
Beyoncé decides when she will appear in Vogue
Instead of an interview, British Vogue editor Edward Enninful delivers a first-hand account of working with the Dreamgirls star for the July edition. In the glowing tribute to Queen Bee, Enninful reveals that the singer decided when she would appear in the magazine at a party.
“I asked when we might make some more pictures together,” Enninful says, having styled the star in 2020. “Enigmatic as ever, she replied: “I think we could do something for July” and breezed off into the night.”
What Beyoncé wants, Beyoncé gets.
Contouring is out. Sculpting is in
Hair and make-up artists were recruited from Beyoncé’s own glam squad, with regular collaborator Sir John wielding the foundation brushes and her hair stylist Nakia Rachon working with Jawara.
Sir John, who also works with Serena Williams and supermodels Karlie Kloss and Joan Smalls, decided to ditch the contouring make-up method championed by various Kardashians for years, employing a subtler technique.
“I love creating a lot of architectural structure on the face – I don’t like contouring so much, but sculpting instead,” Sir John told British Vogue. “On Beyoncé [in British Vogue], you’ll notice that there’s sculpting to the eyes, temples and there’s a really beautiful halo effect on her eyelids.”
The “halo” effect borrows from old Hollywood techniques of the 1940s and is created using lighter shades of eyeshadow in the middle of the eyelids and darker shades on the outside.
You can still wear skinny jeans
If you remain loyal to skinny jeans, despite the best efforts of fashion editors to put you in wide-leg, flared and boyfriend styles, take comfort in Beyoncé’s loyalty to the noughties staple.
At the cover shoot, held in Los Angeles in April, Enninful reveals that the singer arrived wearing skinny jeans, a white T-shirt and Christian Louboutin high heels.
Now you can finally stop pretending that you like high-waisted jeans.
There’s music too
Beyoncé didn’t decide on a July Vogue appearance randomly – she announced the release of her seventh solo album act i RENAISSANCE at the end of that month.
Not surprisingly, Enninful enjoyed his exclusive exposure to the album.
“I’m transported back to the clubs of my youth,” he says. “I want to get up and start throwing moves. It’s music I love to my core. Music that makes you rise, that turns your mind to cultures and subcultures, to our people past and present, music that will unite so many on the dance floor, music that touches your soul.”
Merchandise is available to purchase but you must buy T-shirts sight unseen. The T-shirts do not appear in the Vogue shoot but are available to pre-order on Beyoncé’s website. You will have to look elsewhere to purchase horses and feather crowns.
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