Beyoncé and Balmain’s creative director Olivier Rousteing have teamed up for a new couture collection inspired by the former’s Renaissance album, Vogue reports. “Renaissance Couture” is described as the “first wearable album” and consists of sixteen pieces corresponding to the hit LP’s sixteen tracks.
Furthermore, Queen Bey will be Vogue France’s cover star for the first time in April 2023, which is set to hit newsstands on Wednesday (March 29). Beyoncè and Rousteing spoke about the collection, praising each other for materializing the ambitious concept.
“Olivier is a dream collaborator and a constantly innovating and evolving creative. All that he has done as a Black designer in breaking down and opening doors has been inspiring,” Bey said. “From our very first meeting, to his designs over the years for my performances and appearances, I knew one day I would work with him on a collection. I am so proud of what we created and the synergy that formed between our teams.”
“I can’t help but be thrilled by the history-making aspects of this collaboration. This appears to be the first time that a Black woman has overseen the couture offering from an historic Parisian house. And those designs were created in partnership with the first Black man to ever oversee all the collections at an historic Parisian house,” Rousteing added.
“Let’s hope those two firsts help inspire plenty of others…Thank you, Beyoncé, for creating the infectious, joyous music that launched this journey—and for partnering with me to ensure that we designed the collection that perfectly reflected the power of those compositions.”
Vogue France also uploaded a picture of their publication’s April edition to Instagram, describing the Houston native as a “superstar” and “powerful.”
“Superstar is the perfect word to describe Beyoncé, who is now the cover star of Vogue France for the very first time,” the caption reads. “The powerful and charismatic diva is the co-designer of a unique Balmain haute couture collection, with Olivier Rousteing.
“The designer, who is unmatched in terms of imagination and a master of epic proportions, was blown away by Renaissance, the star’s latest album, and made 16 outfits, hand in hand with Beyoncé herself, dedicated to the album’s 16 tracks. Together, they have created a unique concept, ‘Renaissance Couture,’ the first wearable album!”
Watch the “Renaissance Couture” collection in action above.