Inside the Making of Beyoncé’s Sheer, Horse-Inspired Alexander McQueen Bodysuit
Beyoncé has regularly been debuting new outfits on her Renaissance World Tour, and she brought out one of her most striking bodysuits yet during her Minneapolis concert this past Thursday. The custom Alexander McQueen look, featuring a sequin-embroidered horse on a tulle base, was inspired by look 35 of the house’s fall/winter 2016 collection. It also proves Queen Bee is definitely a horse girl.
ELLE.com has exclusive images of the piece, which showcase just how much detail went into ensuring that the horse motif appear glittery and, as importantly, stage-ready. The horse itself was constructed from a combination of sequins and faceted beads.
A close-up of the embroidery detail, featuring sequins and faceted beads with tufting and silver cording.
Here, the final look from two different angles:
Beyoncé has yet to give an interview about her tour or the thought behind its enormous arsenal of costumes. In August 2021, the megastar gave her last big interview to Harper’s Bazaar, in which she addressed her hopes for her 40s and teased new music.
This will be a decade of “fun and full of freedom,” she said. “I want to feel the same freedom I feel on stage every day of my life. I want to explore aspects of myself I haven’t had time to discover and to enjoy my husband and my children. I want to travel without working. I want this next decade to be about celebration, joy, and giving and receiving love. I want to give all the love I have to the people who love me back.”
She continued: “I’ve done so much in 40 years that I just want to enjoy my life. It’s hard going against the grain, but being a small part of some of the overdue shifts happening in the world feels very rewarding. I want to continue to work to dismantle systemic imbalances. I want to continue to turn these industries upside down. I plan to create businesses outside of music. I have learned that I have to keep on dreaming. One of my favorite quotes is from the inventor Charles Kettering. It goes ‘Our imagination is the only limit to what we can hope to have in the future.’”
Senior News and Strategy Editor
Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she’s not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.