Designers break down how and why Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance’ was everywhere during NYFW.
While there were plenty of trends emerging throughout the week—Rapunzel-length hair, skirts over pants, monochromatic styling—perhaps the biggest and most zeitgeist-y did not involve clothes at all. It was more of a soundtrack, a soundscape, and a mood all rolled into one. Beyoncé’s ballroom-inspired album,Tracks from the singer’s latest album blared out at shows across the city.
“I think you can feel a lot of the pent-up energy and the need for collective and individual joy that this album brings to people,” says Oscar Nuñez, who DJ’d at the Opening Ceremony party. He played “Alien Superstar” and “Heated” during his sets. In Nuñez’s opinion, the album matches up to the joyous and triumphant energy that dominated NYFW this season, after nearly two years of COVID restrictions and, consequently, more muted—and masked-up—shows.
“We’ve been through a lot in the last two years, and we’re still going through it,” says Nuñez, who is also a cofounder of Papi Juice, a collective that throws parties for QTPOCs. “So I feel like this album is a great, joyful release for a lot of us, especially when we get to experience it together.”—played a crucial role in the creation process of his spring collection—by happenstance or osmosis. “was on constant repeat as I designed, styled, and prepared spring 2023,” the designer says.
My colleague José Criales-Unzueta, fashion news writer at Vogue Runway, says the crowds at fashion shows—a notoriously stoic bunch—would noticeably perk up whenevertracks came on, particularly at LaQuan Smith. “You could feel the mood in those rooms lift and see some folks mouth the lyrics and connect with each other through it,” they say.
This was exactly the intention for Smith, who put together his runway soundtrack with help from powerhouse DJ Diplo . “When I came to Diplo about curating the sound, it was only fitting to add a few songs from the album,” Smith says. “We also played the album backstage and at our look book shoot. The songs are sexy and bold just like what my collections embody.” There is an aesthetic alignment: Smith designed a dress Beyoncé recently wore in a Tiffany & Co.