Why Beyoncé’s fashion-filled Renaissance tour is setting Toronto abuzz

Beyoncé will perform in Toronto on Saturday, the first North American show of her Renaissance tour, and the Canadian BeyHive is ready. She has put on nothing short of an extravaganza as she’s performed her album over the past few months in Europe, from a mid-air mirrorball horse ride to voguing robots to a dance feature from her 11-year-old daughter, Blue Ivy.

But it’s the costumes that have really taken the spotlight. The show transports us into a space-age realm with futuristic looks that not only complement but participate in the performance, combining galactic motifs with club couture, displaying impeccable craftsmanship and technological innovation. It is a full-on fashion show of bespoke designer pieces, specific to every new city she hits. In the social media age, where no show stunt can remain a secret, the queen is certainly keeping us on our toes.

The tour is a live celebration of her seventh studio album, released last summer, an ode to club culture and the ballroom scene that was hotly anticipated after a seven-year break since her last solo album, Lemonade. “Creating this album allowed me a place to dream and to find escape,” Beyoncé wrote in an Instagram post.

Before her first show in Stockholm, we were served Renaissance visuals that telegraphed the tour aesthetic, giving us Donna Summer at Studio 54 vibes from the album artwork. We also learned she has designed an haute couture collection in collaboration with Olivier Rousteing of Balmain that translated tracks from the album into glittering, glamorous looks.

In an exciting development for the Toronto stop of the tour, Canadians can get an up-close look at Beyoncé’s Balmain collection at a special Renaissance Flagship pop-up from July 5 to 11, which takes over the third floor of Holt Renfrew on Bloor Street. Fans have been lining up to see the couture looks and shop Renaissance merch, including hoodies, tees, hats and an art book ranging from $25 to $325, as well as Renaissance: Beyoncé with Balmain pieces like an oversized tee, drop-shoulder hoodie and oversized tote, ranging from $200 to $600.

For her concert looks, we should’ve known to expect the unexpected. She’s working with a selection of fashion’s top stylists, many of them Black women, including Shiona Turini, the stylist and costume designer who worked with Beyoncé on her iconic Formation music video, and Julia Sarr-Jamois, the current fashion director of British Vogue. And the designers they’re collaborating with are thoughtfully chosen and diverse.

A glittering, surrealist trompe l’oeil catsuit by Jonathan Anderson of Loewe mirrored a similar dress from his Fall 2022 collection. Perfectly manicured hands were placed strategically along Beyoncé’s figure, finished with black gloves complete with red nails.

An electric blue bodysuit by Roksanda was encircled by a structural hoop skirt for maximum drama, its colour popping against the silver paillette-covered stage. She turned to Fendi for a metallic red, silver and black catsuit worn with matching over the knee boots and an intarsia cape made of upcycled fur.

Beyoncé fully embraced her lovingly dubbed title Queen Bey with a number of bee-themed looks, one by Casey Cadwallader of Mugler featuring a metallic corset inspired by a 1997 insect-themed runway look by Thierry Mugler, complete with an antennae headpiece. As a Tiffany & Co. ambassador, Beyoncé has worn dazzling custom jewellery to complement the looks, as well as a functional earpiece encrusted with 4.5 carats of white diamonds.

On Juneteenth, she wore all Black designers including a fully embellished red, white and gold bodysuit by emerging female London-based designer Feben, an elegant ruby red gown by recently appointed Ferragamo creative director Maximilian Davis, and a bold red bodysuit with strap and buckle detailing by Ibrahim Kamara of Off White.

She’s also partnered with designers rooted to the places where she’s performing, recently debuting an ethereal exo-skeletal-inspired look by Dutch designer Iris Van Herpen for her Amsterdam show. Which begs the question: which North American designers might she feature on this next phase of her tour? If she stays true to her wardrobe blueprint, it’s possible Canadian designers will grace the stage. We can only hope.

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