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On March 12, the 32-time Grammy winner revealed the title of her upcoming eighth studio album, “Cowboy Carter,” on her official website and on March 19^th she shared the album artwork on her personal Instagram account. 

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A picture of Beyoncé herself with long bleach blonde locks, sat on a white horse holding an American flag. Her outfit is a stunning red white and blue western jumpsuit and she wears the album title “Cowboy Carter” sash again in red white and blue. The photo was shot by LA based photographer Blair Caldwell.

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The image is very American and stately and it suggests some patriotic themes that may present in the piece of work. The singer posted it in honour of the ten-day countdown to the album’s March 29 release.

“This album has been over five years in the making. It was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed…and it was very clear that I wasn’t. But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive. It feels good to see how music can unite so many people around the world, while also amplifying the voices of some of the people who have dedicated so much of their lives educating on our musical history,” Beyonce wrote in her caption. 

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“The criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put on me. act ii is a result of challenging myself and taking my time to bend and blend genres together to create this body of work.”

Beyoncé then continued to reveal that there would be “a few surprises on the album” and shared that she trusts that fans will be incredibly excited to hear the “heart, soul, love and passion” she put into this piece of work.

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“I focused on this album as a continuation of RENAISSANCE…I hope this music is an experience, creating another journey where you can close your eyes, start from the beginning, and never stop. This ain’t a Country album.”, “This is a “Beyoncé” album. This is act ii COWBOY CARTER, and I am proud to share it with y’all!” she concluded. 

This anticipated piece of work is set to be the second album in what is now rumoured to be a Trilogy of “Renaissance” albums.

_{Written By Lauren Dickson}

The post Cowboy Carter: Let’s Talk Beyoncé’s Act II Renaissance Artwork appeared first on Voir Fashion.

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Here are our favourite looks:

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Living up to her Queen Bee reputation, Beyoncé wore this custom Mugler yellow and black metallic bodysuit, paired with black vinyl gloves and thigh-high boots, and a helmet equipped with antennae and yellow-tinted sunglasses. The outfit references the Mugler spring 1997 couture collection, inspired by insects.

Fans went crazy for this magical UV-colour-changing dress by Anrealage. The white bell-sleeved cloak transformed into a multi-coloured display when the light shone on it. The technology behind the coat was the work of Tokyo designer Kunihiko Morinaga, who showed colour-changing clothes at Paris Fashion Week FW23.

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Beyoncé was giving ‘Formation’ with this wide-brimmed hat and a custom diamanté leotard from Balmain FW23. The bodysuit featured an intricate pearl web, matching her pearl-rimmed cat eye sunglasses, and was styled with black vinyl thigh-high boots.

£ 5795

Balmain Silver Embroidered Dress

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£ 27

Ego Diamanté Droplet Detail Western Hat

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£ 15

Pieces Diamanté Cat Eye Sunglasses

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£ 654

Le Silla Eva Thigh-Length Leather Boots

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^{Image Credit: Kevin Mazur}

Out of all her bodysuits of the evening, this bejewelled Loewe number stole the show. Adorned with manicured hands, with which Bey wore matching latex gloves, the suit was custom made by Jonathan Anderson and was reminiscent of the hand-dress from Loewe’s FW22 collection at Paris Fashion Week.

£ 895

Loewe Gloves Graphic Print Velvet Maxi Dress

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£ 22.50

Jaded London Kiss Me Quick Raw Hem Tank Top

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£ 36

Jaded London Kiss Me Quick Raw Hem Maxi Skirt

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Another custom Balmain look, Beyoncé transformed into a mirror ball in this asymmetric mirrored mini dress. She paired it with silver thigh-high boots and metallic sunglasses.

£ 220

rotate Birger Christensen Hemly Strapless Croc Effect Dress

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£ 26

Weekday Trek Oversized Sunglasses

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£ 42.49

Raid London Amberr Long Block Heeled Boot

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^{Image Credit: Kevin Mazur}

Beyoncé wore another bodysuit, this time a futuristic-silhouette number from Alexander McQueen. It was hand embroidered, mixing different textures like rhinestones, intricate beading and metallic threads, and featured padded shoulders and hips.

£ 606

Zhivago Message To Love Jumpsuit

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£ 52.50

Jaded Rose V Neck Embellished Jumpsuit

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David Koma, who also designed Bey’s Oscars performance look last year, created this custom ensemble inspired by his SS23 collection. The look consisted of a turtleneck bodycon dress with a ruched, high-low skirt, a long iridescent metallic coat, chunky silver earrings, and holographic asymmetric cowboy boots.

£ 1160

David Koma Mother Of Pearl Print Mesh Dress

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£ 493

Alexandre Vauthier Holographic Knee High Boots

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£ 55

Club Exx Solar Beam Iridescent Jacket

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£ 189

Kenneth Jay Lane Silver Tone Crystal Earrings

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Beyoncé heads to England next week and covers 40 cities in Europe, the UK, Canada, and the US, concluding in New Orleans in late September. Let’s hope we get to see even more looks as the tour goes on!

^{Words by Lucy Walshe}

^{Header Image by Kevin Mazur}

The post Beyoncé Kicks Off Renaissance Tour In Custom Couture Looks appeared first on Voir Fashion.

If you’ve recently found yourself struck by a desire to regularly swathe yourself in lashings of pearls, velvet and brocade, or with a healthy appreciation for puff sleeves, romantic necklines and jacquard ballgowns, then you’re not alone – Renaissance-era dressing is having a moment right now. Thanks to the preponderance of that giant-collared Ganni shirt, it’s safe to say that we’re experiencing a period of white-blouse mania, whereby fanciful iterations of Shakespearean-inspired blouses and lacy, ruffled confections are firmly entrenched in the season’s repertoire of must-have wardrobe items. The runways, too, in recent seasons have witnessed an inundation of 16th-century-inspired attire, with designers presenting collections in ode to all things Renaissance.

Brock SS20 and AW20

Sometimes when present happenings and goings on feel unsettling – say, amidst a period of political, social or environmental uncertainty – we, as a society, have a collective desire to look to the past as a way of resisting or escaping the realities of the present. Nowhere is this tendency more pervasive than in fashion, where trends and collections are defined by the decades or eras that they mirror, where designers use clothes as a means of transportation to carry us back to the past. Myriad designers have offered a reflection on this cultural zeitgeist of nostalgia, harking back to times past and decades, or centuries, gone by, serving up skirtfuls of whimsical escapism in a bid to ease the bitterness of the present. Not a season goes by without a sartorial reference to ‘90s grunge or ‘70s boho-chic, as nostalgia for not-so-distant decades spills out from celebrity throwback photos and vintage relics from previous generations’ wardrobes.

Khaite AW20 and SS20, Marc Jacobs SS20 and Paco Rabanne AW20

But there’s a certain joie de vivre that comes from celebrating a historical aesthetic that extends back far beyond any of our memories, one constructed of fragments of history – art, stories, fairytales, history books – intertwined with our own imagination, offering a distant escape from the quotidian. The exaggerated aesthetic of Renaissance-era dressing fits neatly into the criteria required for trends to take off in an age when fashion is constructed with the intention to orchestrate a social media moment – it offers a theatricality far removed from the stripped-back normcore and athleisure aesthetics that continue to dominate the fashion landscape, instead peppered with decadent jolts of appeal for sartorial maximalists. The simultaneous collective infatuation for cinematic period pieces seems too coincidental not to address – Greta Gerwig’s Little Women addresses the prairie-meets-Renaissance aesthetic with aplomb (thanks to Academy Award-winning costume designer Jacqueline Durran). Autumn de Wilde’s Emma continues to fan the flames of the trend through its fantastical Regency-era costuming, bursting with bell-skirt ballgowns awash in pastel colourways, imbued with a playful frivolity equally found in Renaissance-era dressing.

Prada SS19

On the runways, many designers have also reached into the capacious bag of Renaissance-era style tricks. At Prada’s Spring/Summer 2019 show, models were sent down the runway in looks complete with opulent headwear worthy of a spot of cushioning Anne Boleyn’s head, ushering in a season of ubiquitous regal padded headbands. (A discussion of Renaissance style would not be complete without paying due respect to Anne Boleyn, the 16th-century’s biggest influencer and fashion’s latest muse – the iconic oil painting in the National Portrait Gallery in London has us musing over her pearl-lined neck, swathed in inky velvet and proudly holding a sky-high embellished veil on her head.)

Simone Rocha AW20 and SS20

Simone Rocha’s aesthetic has long been an ode to the eerie romance of Renaissance-era dressing – for her Spring/Summer 2020 collection, sheer leg-o’mutton sleeves belled out of china-print gowns and pearl-encrusted jewels appeared in copious quantities, grazing the collars of intricate tulle silhouettes or adorning jewel-studded headbands. Brock’s 2020 collections also offered visual feasts of romantic silhouettes that almost look like they were pulled from 16th-century oil paintings – billowing jacquard gowns adorned with intricate embroidery and Juliet sleeves, square-neck brocade dresses and floor-grazing florals rendered in tulle and lace.

Markarian AW20 and SS20

 NYC-based brand Markarian’s whimsical collections possess a certain romantic sensibility that translates into a cocktail of corsetry-inspired silhouettes, sumptuous brocades, and floral print silks, perfectly complemented by evening shawls or scarves that elevate the elegance of any ensemble.”

For his Autumn/Winter 2020 collection at Paco Rabanne, Julien Dossenna unveiled an homage to 16th-century Elizabethan-era style in the form of elaborate ruffle necks and Juliet sleeves, with billowing florals ballooning out from shoulder hems and lace-finished cuffs.

Bella Hadid and FKA Twiggs in Vivienne Westwood AW90

If the ubiquity of Renaissance-inspired looks on the runway isn’t enough to convince you to plunge into the trend, it’s also celebrity-approved, with A-listers from Bella Hadid to FKA Twigs exhibiting a predilection for all things celestial, spotted sporting Vivienne Westwood’s iconic vintage AW90 corset from her oil-painting-inspired Portrait collection. Besides, there’s never been a better time to escape back a few centuries and get dressed as if you were 16th-century royalty.

Words by Ruby McAuliffe

Graphics by Katie Janes

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The post The Renaissance Revival: The Joy of Escapist Fashion appeared first on Voir Fashion.