I’ve been on my soapbox for the past few months, trying to incite the disco renaissance. I would’ve never predicted that it would be Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter herself at the helm of the revival.
Well, it’s happening! Beyoncé is simultaneously taking us back to bygone eras while propelling us into the future!
Beyoncé’s long-awaited seventh studio album–RENAISSANCE–will be released on July 29th, and the media rollout has begun. You can pre-save the album, order 4 collectible mystery box sets (each sold separately,) and you can gag over her photoshoot with British Vogue. I’ll surely be hunting down the July 2022 edition of British Vogue when it hits newsstands next week. It will undoubtedly be a piece of pop culture–and disco–history.
Oh and make sure to have a collective scream with the Bey Hive over on Twitter.
The Music
There is still much left to be revealed but Edward Enninful, editor-in-chief of British Vogue and European editorial director of Condé Nast, gave us an eye-opening sneak peek into the creative thought process behind the photo shoot and album with this digital article on Vogue UK’s website.
Here’s what Enninful had to say about hearing the album for the first time while attending a private dinner at Beyoncé’s home,
Instantly, a wall of sound hits me. Soaring vocals and fierce beats combine and in a split second I’m transported back to the clubs of my youth. I want to get up and start throwing moves. It’s music I love to my core. Music that makes you rise, that turns your mind to cultures and subcultures, to our people past and present, music that will unite so many on the dance floor, music that touches your soul. As ever with Beyoncé, it is all about the intent. I sit back, after the wave, absorbing it all.
-Edward Enninful, British Vogue 2022
The Photo Shoot
The photoshoot was designed to be an ode to the last 40 years of the 20th century. And the team over delivered! The fun-loving, experimental, and move-busting excitement that disco, house, and dance club music exude came to life during Enninful’s collaborative phone calls with the Grammy award-winning artist.
B wanted to play with fashion like never before, and as we swapped references (from the 1990s garage scene to ’80s excess), talked hair and beauty, and got to know her team, a vision of glittering retro-futurism began to take shape.
-Edward Enninful, British Vogue 2022
Fashion is a vital part of bringing life back to the nightclub scene. The last couple of years have been tumultuous, to say the least. The 2020 shutdown made many people realize how much they previously took companionship for granted.
How many of us missed getting ready to go out with our homegirls? That’s an experience all of its own: music bumping through the speaker, deciding which top will be able to support you through the night, helping that one friend apply her lashes, doing each other’s hair, the whole ordeal.
These excitement-filled, collective experiences center around music, friendship, fun, and fashion. Beyoncé is determined to give us an album that makes you want to get dressed to go out dancing. And she’s leading by example by experimenting with fashion in her photoshoot with British Vogue and photographer Rafael Pavarotti in ways we haven’t seen from the Queen in a long time.
Lewk Spotlight
Beyoncé is known to be meticulous when it comes to her artistry. I am not the best Bey Hive detective but, I happened to notice that her cover for the July 2022 issue of British Vogue pays homage to one of the most recounted nights in Studio 54 history. The night Bianca Jagger rode an all-white horse in the Studio 54 building in a blood-red dress. The photographs of the former Mrs. Jagger on top of the horse are among some of the most famous to ever be taken inside the nightclub.
On the cover, Beyonce wears all Maison Alaia. The wonderfully dramatic headpiece was handcrafted by Harris Reed and Vivienne H. Lake. And the earrings are by Eddie Borgo.
We’re talking about Beyoncé so f course we have a gold moment. And it’s pure opulence baby.
But when the hive saw the bangs, many fans flashbacked to her 2014 baby bangs. Definitely her most polarizing haircut to date.
Beyoncé is wearing a custom-fitted, handcrafted Schirapelli coat embroidered with sequins, crystal-mesh, vintage jewels, and Swarovski rhinestones. And specially made Schirapelli gold-plated and rhinestone earrings adorn her ears.
Schirapelli is well on its way to becoming a household name, with many of the most memorable golden accessories of the past two years attributed to them.
Beyoncé sitting on a disco ball with platform boots high enough to be lethal? I’m eating it up. Vogue interviewed designer and long-time Beyonce fan, Harris Reed about this stunning 80’s inspired look.
Beyoncé’s train is made from an upcycled 150-year-old tapestry and upholstery fabric that was gifted to Reed while vacationing in Italy. Sustainable haute couture? Gotta love it.
Harris Reed made the silk corset, sequined leggings, and silk train. The ROKER boots were embellished with lace by Harris Reed. The feathered headpiece was handcrafted by Harris Reed & Vivienne Lake. The diamond and platinum and diamond necklace are from Tiffany & Co.
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