Beyoncé in Georges Hobeika in New Jersey for the Renaissance world tour
Beyoncé in Georges Hobeika in Dallas for the Renaissance world tour
Beyoncé’s “tourtrobe” has firmly entrenched her as one of the most fearless and savvy stage dressers of the 21st century, and one who is also astute and deliberate about who she chooses to wear. Working with an army of stylists, she often chooses designers from the country or city she is performing in, donning Iris van Herpen in Amsterdam and Jacquemus in Marseilles. For a performance on Juneteenth, the day in the US marking the end of slavery, Beyoncé wore only Black designers, and for her surprise show at the opening of the Atlantis The Royal in Dubai in January this year, she stepped out in Dubai-based, Omani heritage label Atelier Zuhra, as well as Lebanese Nicolas Jebran. “We started on that dress the November before the show,” says Rayan Al Sulaimani, the designer behind Atelier Zuhra, who worked with Beyoncé and her stylist KJ Moody on the design. “It took us almost a month-and-a-half to finish.”
Shakira wore Charbel Zoe for the closing ceremony of the 2014 Fifa World Cup in Brazil
Dressing someone for the stage is a different process to designing for the runway or even the red carpet. A stage outfit needs to be visually stunning but also durable. It needs to be easy to put on and take off, or its layers or outer pieces need to be removable without affecting the look. Hobeika also notes that the seams must be stronger than usual, because of all the movement and dancing. Lebanese designer Charbel Zoe, who has created outfits for Beyoncé, Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, Nicky Minaj, Mariah Carey, and Haifa Wehbe, agrees.
Haifa Wehbe wearing Charbel Zoe for a concert in Lebanon in 2016
“For the stage, you can go wide, you can go more creative, crazy, as I love to do,” he shares. Each celebrity has her own style, he adds, and the process of crafting a stage look for a big star is time-consuming yet…
