Beyoncé’s 10 Most Iconic Onstage Looks, From Destiny’s Child To Now


Last year, it felt like we reached Peak Coachella. The festival is, of course, happening again this year April 12 through April 21, but it was in 2018 that Beyoncé performed with five Olivier Rousteing-designed costumes. It was a performance that was, as her choreographer JaQuel Knight described, “amazing, beyond, iconic, life.” And though you can’t really top that, you can revisit itand a new Netflix documentary about Beychella will allow us to do just that.

 

Premiering April 17th, Homecoming: A Film By Beyoncé will give us an “intimate, in-depth look at Beyoncé’s celebrated 2018 Coachella performance [that] reveals the emotional road from creative concept to cultural movement.” The performance was otherworldly and history-making, with Beyoncé taking us from a New Orleans line march to a Destiny’s Child reunion to a choreographed dance to “Get Me Bodied” with Solange, with quotes from cultural luminaries ranging from Malcolm X to Nina Simone sprinkled in between.

 

And then there were the costumes. With the theme of Black pride, Beyoncé’s stylist Marni Senofonte worked with Rousteing to create looks that ranged from a dress channeling Egyptian queen Nefertiti to her Greek life-inspired sweatshirt. In light of the upcoming documentary, here’s a look at her most iconic onstage looks.

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2001: Destiny’s Child on TRLYee….and we’re really not kidding this time….haw. Thanks to excellent stage mom Tina Knowles for these cowboy ‘fits! 

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2003: MTV Music Video Awards: From being lowered down in a complicated system of harnesses to performing “Crazy in Love” with Jay-Z, the fur stole accompanying her shorts and bikini top, stole the show.

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2007: 7th Annual BET Awards: Beyoncé performed “Get Me Bodied” in a mirrored Thierry Mugler costume.

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2011: Billboard Music AwardsTaking macramé to another dimension, her metallic-twine dress was worn with maximum impact during “Run the World (Girls).” 

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2012: Ovation Hall in Atlantic City: She went full Atlantic City with a Swarovski-encrusted showgirl costume from Ralph & Russo.

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2013: Mrs. Carter World Tour: The best costume would be a tie between this pearl-encrusted Ralph & Russo bodysuit and this all-black (and all-business!) leather Emilio Pucci ensemble.

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2016: Formation World Tour in HoustonBeyoncé in this Gucci bodysuit, face partially concealed by an oversized, wide-brim hat, feels like the transition from pop star to Cultural Icon.

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2016: MTV VMAs: From this ethereal white Ralph & Russo cape to an all-black Francesco Scognamiglio bodysuit and Fendi fur coat, her VMAs performance was cinematic.

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2018: On The Run II Tour: Beyoncé wore a purple Peter Dundas bishop’s cape and a heavily beaded silver-and-gold minidress. 

Beyoncé's Most Iconic On-Stage Looks

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2018: Coachella: And, of course, we end with her Coachella performance. The costumes were all Balmain-designed, but they each could have been from completely different designers. There were many references to royalty, from the glittery mesh top with a royal crest to the cape and crown in honor of Nefertiti.

 

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