Beyoncé's Black Is King film aims to start "a global conversation" says stylist Zerina Akers

Putting a futuristic spin on traditional, tribal references was one of stylist Zerina Akers' approaches when creating the looks for Beyoncé's visual album Black Is King, which celebrates black ancestry and the African diaspora.

The visual album started as small, one-minute visuals in July 2019, but soon escalated to an 85-minute-long film that brings to life each of the songs on Beyoncé's 2019 album The Lion King: The Gift through powerful musical performances and dynamic costumes.

Each outfit was put together by Beyoncé's stylist, Akers, who has been working with the artist for the last six years.

With over 70 different looks, the process became "like a travelling circus", the stylist said, as she received a constant stream of merchandise from a mixture of established brands and emerging designers.

As the stylist told Dezeen, she and her team wanted the fashion to speak to people of all colours, while specifically empowering the film's black audience.

"I wanted to have this global conversation with the wardrobe," said Akers. "I hope that people of all colours recognise and respect the power and beauty of brown skin overall, and that also applies cross-culturally."

"For the black people [watching], I hope that they start to research their spiritual heritage and what truly belongs to them," she continued.

"I hope that they are left with this sense of entitlement, that the world does belong to them and that they belong in the world."

According to Akers, confronting certain stereotypes often imposed on black people and people of African descent was central to the film's costume design.

This included the use of animal prints, which was prevalent across the whole film.

"I wanted to take that stereotypical notion that if you want to present a tribal element, then it automatically goes into animal prints," said the stylist. "I wanted to turn that on its head and raise it up to make it feel really high fashion."

Akers dressed Beyoncé in a custom faux-cowhide corset top and matching mini skirt by Burberry in the song Already, which served as a nod to the South African Zulu culture and their use of shields made from cowhide.

 

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