Balmain’s Olivier Rousteing and Beyoncé have co-designed a limited collection inspired by the star’s Renaissance album. Following Beyoncé ending her relationship with sporting brand Adidas and parting ways with her athleisure brand, Ivy Park, the star is leveling up and expanding to couture pieces.
The 16 iconic looks in the collection, which debuted in Vogue France, are inspired explicitly by each track from Beyoncé’s Renaissance album and the internet is going wild over them. The Beyhive is anticipating the Renaissance visuals, however, for now, Beyoncé is bringing Renaissance to life via couture.
Design and Influence of the Collection
The collections’ looks are inspired and designed around a specific lyric from Renaissance. The first look, ‘I’m That Girl,’ features a metal bustier designed by Ellie Hirsch. The lyrics, “from the top of the morning I shine, right through the blinds, touching everything in my plain view and everything next to me gets lit up too, ” inspire the piece.
Designer Rousteing said: “Beyoncé’s a strong woman of substance—and with these lyrics and this message, choosing which way to go for this first design was very easy… We turned to sculptor Elie Hirsch for this sublime sun-meets-crown metal bustier.”
The pieces feature feathers and metal hardware with club kid and queer influence. Notably, Pure/Honey features a psychedelic, harlequin black and white print, a white corset, and a turban. All the collections’ looks are quintessential Beyoncé, and we are obsessed.
Interestingly, the only look Balmain is yet to reveal is CUFF IT, the fourth track on Beyoncé’s Renaissance album. There is speculation that Beyoncé will wear this look at this year’s Met Gala. Will Beyoncé make her iconic return to the met after a 6 year long hiatus?
Not only that, Beyoncé is known for her extravagant performances wearing iconic outfits. The star kicks off her Renaissance tour in May, the question is, will Beyoncé wear Renaissance Couture for her tour, or will she go in a different creative direction?
A Positive Step for Diversity
This collection seems also to be a positive direction for diversity and inclusivity for the Parisian fashion house.
“This appears to be the first time a Black woman has overseen the couture offering from a historic Parisian house. And those designs were created in partnership with the first Black man to oversee all the collections at a historic Parisian house.” Creative director and co-collaborator Routseing told Vogue. Seemingly, this collaboration is one for the history books for Balmain.
Fan Reaction
Beyoncés fans – known as the Beyhive – have shown nothing but love for this collection. They’re anticipating Beyoncé releasing her Renaissance visuals album, which is “scheduled for release later.”
Renowned celebrity gossip site, Deuxmoi posted that a source has told them that an A-list singer will attend the Met Gala to promote their newest album and an exclusive collection with a French brand. Fans believe this blind item to be regarding Beyoncé.
If the speculation is true, the Beyhive won’t have to wait much longer to get what they anticipate finally.
Parting Ways With Adidas
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Beyoncé, and Adidas are cutting ties due to creative differences. The star partnered with Adidas and her own brand, Ivy Park in 2019, following Beyoncé pulling the brand from Topshop in 2018. They released their first collection, ADIDAS X IVY PARK, in January 2020, just as the pandemic started.
Beyoncé’s announcement of the Balmain collaboration came very quickly after the announcement that she would be cutting ties with Adidas. It’ll be fascinating to see what Beyoncé does next with Ivy Park.
