Beyoncé & Balmain Assemble To Produce High-Fashion ‘Wearable Album’
Balmain creative director Olivier Rousteing liked Beyoncé’s Renaissance album so much, he put not a ring, but more than a dozen runway-ready outfits around it.
He rang the singer’s stylist up for an official high-fashion collection. Beyoncé’s team said yes—they wanted to run the world with it. The resulting lineup by Balmain and Beyoncé, Renaissance Couture, is co-designed by the superstar and arrives ahead of her stadium tour. French Vogue magazine, which debuted the looks, dubs them as “the first wearable album.”
Each of the 16 pieces in Renaissance Couture corresponds with one of Renaissance’s 16 tracks. For example, Heated—whose visual manifestation is worn on Beyoncé—entails a crystal-studded thermoformed black velvet gown and Balmain vintage hat to match the lyric, “Never met a girl so fine like this, no, no, no, no,” as well as alludes to the mention of her Uncle Johnny’s sense of style.
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The number for I’m That Girl—relating to the words, “it’s not the diamond, it’s not the pearls—features a hammered-metal bustier with spiky bracelets and lamb leather garments.
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Thique, which is about calling people out to the dance floor, spotlights oversized tassel chandelier earrings that overwhelm the bodice. And Church Girl, deceptively one of the album’s most explicit songs, flaunts its daring with a black and red cape.
Beyoncé has lauded the design process as “freeing.”
“Thank you Oliver Rousteing and Balmain for bringing Renaissance to life in couture,” the singer writes on Instagram. “Thank you for allowing me to celebrate the human form, to take artistic risks, to push boundaries, and to freely express myself.”
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Unfortunately, the collection won’t be sold in stores—it’s just as untouchable as Queen Bey herself. You can still enjoy the full visual track list here, though.
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[via Page Six, Surface Mag, Vogue France, images via various sources]
