Beyoncé's 'Renaissance' in the world of haute couture.
Beyoncé designed a new haute couture collection for Balmain alongside the house's creative director Olivier Rousteing and her stylist Marni Senofonte.
Of course, anything Beyoncé creates makes a statement. However, the collection's avant-garde tracks are particularly unique, as they are inspired by the 16 songs included on her 'Renaissance' album.
"I drew and sketched as I listened, and sometimes you can't control the emotion of your sketch," Olivier Rousteing told Vogue.
“And I started imagining the sketches inside her album, how they would connect with the songs and the lyrics – it wasn't something I had to do, but I was just inspired by the music to do it. And that's how it started," he explained.
The collection was created within five months. In this short period of time, they managed to not only bring Beyoncé's 'Renaissance' album to life, but also make fashion history.
“This appears to be the first time a black woman has overseen a haute couture collection from a historic Parisian house. And these designs were created in collaboration with the first black man to oversee all collections at a historic Parisian house,” Olivier Rousteing further explained.
In the past, Beyoncé made sure to share some pieces from the collection without her fans realizing it.
Celebrating her four wins at the 2023 Grammys, making her the most awarded artist in the history of the ceremony, Beyoncé stepped out wearing 'Virgo's Groove' – a rose-purple velvet dress paired with a metallic hat inspired by Balmain's vintage designs.
In the video she also sent to the BRIT Awads 2023, Beyoncé appeared in a black and white sequined jumpsuit, made with a latex corset and fur sleeves, which she accessorized with a zebra print headpiece.
The design, which has now been revealed to be inspired by Rennaisance's 'Pure/Honey', captures the 'infectious club bop and exuberant joy' of the song of the same name, Rousteing told Vogue.
"Thank you Olivier Rousteing and Balmain for bringing the 'Renaissance' to life through haute couture," Beyoncé wrote in an Instagram post on the occasion of her Vogue France photoshoot wearing pieces from the collection.
"It's been liberating to design with you – thank you for allowing me to celebrate the human form, take artistic risks, push boundaries and express myself freely," he added.
