The September issue is entitled Forces of Fashion and places great emphasis on high fashion couture clothing that catches the eye of any fashion guru. The photographer who had the honor of capturing Beyonce in her element of regal and grace was Mario Testino He did such a fabulous job at capturing Queen Bey. He also was the photographer in one Beyonce’s previous vogue shoots.
What do we want from the glamorous, powerful women we call divas or icons or cultural forces? We want them to want—and in our names get—everything they possibly can. Success in work and love. Sexual pleasure. Money and power. We want them to embody multiple fantasies. We want them to make us believe that exciting realities are just around the corner.
It used to be that the great pop stars with fashion and style gave us small variations on one grand theme. Tina Turner: minidresses and honey tresses. Janis Joplin: boas, bangles, and bell-bottoms. Cher: spangled striptease getups with mythic Third World touches. Nowadays fashion isn’t about the grand theme, it’s about juxtaposition, and it’s filled with allusions to movie and art history; to music and dance styles; to iconographies of race and ethnicity, religion and gender. Madonna opened the door to this collage approach. Today we see it in the wigs, masks, and sculpted costumes of Lady Gaga and Nicki Minaj, the restless dazzle of Rihanna’s couture choices. And, of course, in the music, dance, decor, and looks of the ultimate streamed collage: Beyoncé.
Congratulations to Beyonce on scoring the September cover of Vogue and what makes this slayage even more fabulous is the fact that September is Beyonce’s birthday month
