Fans have eagerly awaited the release of Beyoncé’s highly anticipated album Renaissance in July 2022. As with all things Beyoncé – whose knack for fashion has led to collaborations with Balmain, her own line with Adidas, and pop culture-defining red carpet moments – the stakes are high when it comes to Renaissance tour style.
More so, since fans had never experienced the Renaissance aesthetic world before the tour began in Stockholm this May. Unlike Beyoncé’s past albums, which were released alongside music videos, the singer has only released a video teaser for her song “I’m That Girl,” and the album cover, which depicts the star seated on a silver horse covered in rhinestones.
At the concert in Stockholm, world got a first look how those transferred to real life. “Rhinestones, pearls, latex, shimmer suits, fans,” Mercedes Arielle, a Dallas-based creator who attended the first night of the Sweden stop tells Refinery29 of the outfits she saw from the crowd. “People were like ‘We don’t need visuals, we can create our own.”
Renewed interest in ballroom culture and queer expression has Beyoncé’s seventh studio album at a unique crux of nostalgia and futurism – celebrating icons like Grace Jones and the ballroom commentator Kevin JZ Prodigy while keeping this in mind, people on TikTok had debated for months what to wear to the tour.
At New Jersey’s MetLife stadium, Monica Monroe showed off a metallic breastplate she created inspired by the “I’m That Girl” video teaser, which featured Beyoncé wearing a similar bodysuit and knee-high boots. “I wanted to turn it into an ‘Alien Superstar’ kind of look,” says Monroe. The futuristic top, decorated with intricate rhinestone detailing along the chest and the bodice, nods to the song’s line “feed you diamonds and pearls.” It took the designer a total of 14 hours to make.
That’s what made me even more excited for the concert. “At first, I made it for myself, but then I decided I wanted everyone to enjoy it,” she says.
While many of the show’s attendees are similar wearing silver metallic pieces, from mini dresses styled with opera gloves to rhinestone-covered body chains and tinsel-embellished capes — prompting a 488% spike in searches for “metallic cowboy boots” on Google — others have gone for the cowboy inspiration. No doubt, Beyoncé was inspired to wear a disco ball-inspired cowboy hat from Etsy designer Abby Misbin in the tour announcement photo.
Similarly, Charmaine Goodwin opted to make her own hat for the tour. “I love that aspect of Beyoncé being from Texas and that Black cowgirl style coming into play,” says Goodwin, who is attending the Los Angeles show in September.
While longtime Beyoncé fan Arielle modeled her outfit as “disco meets Barbie loofah,” she referred to it as a disco-meets-Barbie loofah outfit. This translated into a pink ruffled bolero worn over a silver tank top and jeans featuring rhinestone embellished cut-outs, and topped off with a metallic glasses-like accessory with rhinestone fringe. She loves bling, but she wanted to dress it down.
As the tour continues, Arielle says that she’s excited to see how other fans recreate the Renaissance aesthetic now that some of Beyoncé’s looks have been revealed, including shimmering bodysuits from Loewe, Balmain, and Alexander McQueen, tailored suits, and metallic cargo pants, all styled by Shiona Turini.
‘I know the Beyhive is going to be all over those [outfits next],” she says. “She has a fan base that relies on her for that curated aesthetic.”