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By Thami Kwazi

Lifestyle Print Editor


The fashion evolution of Beyoncé

The singer has embraced the curves that came with carrying children and even adjusted her costumes to suit her shape.


This weekend will see international stars flying into South Africa for the Global Citizen concert and the word on everyone’s lips is Beyoncé.

Many have said she will be the biggest performing act at the event. But why is the world so obsessed with this Southern belle?

Not only has the singing sensation influenced the music people listen to today but she’s also influenced the way women dress and wear their hair, their confidence levels and also taking pride in being an independent woman.

Beyoncé Knowles first hit the TV screens in early 2000 as a member of rhythm and blues band Destiny’s Child. At that time her mother Tina was the stylist – hair and clothing – for the then popular girls-only band.

When Destiny’s Child came onto the scene, the media branded them as edgy. After going solo, Beyoncé switched up her beauty and fashion looks to something more daring – perhaps making a visual statement that she is a grown-up woman who stands on her own two feet.

The progression was more evident when she got married in 2008 to US rapper and media mogul Jay-Z. Her beauty was more adventurous and mature.

Throughout the life adjustments, Beyoncé has been constant with the signature blonde hair, which varies in length and style and at times long and sleek or short and shaggy.

Beyoncé has changed the fashion of music videos, wearing a black leotard in the iconic Single Ladies music video. Other artists have gone on to copy this very brave fashion statement to this day.

The 37-year-old is also able to tone it down and be conservative when the occasion requires. She has previously campaigned for two democratic elections – the first for Barack Obama who she even sang for at his inaugural ball wearing a white gown. At Hillary Clinton’s campaign, she performed wearing a black pant-suit.

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The American singer-songwriter also kept it classy and traditional when she met former statesman Nelson Mandela in 2003.

As a mother of three – Blue and twins Rumi and Sir Carter – she has embraced the curves that came with carrying children and even adjusted her costumes to suit her shape instead of forcing her body into costumes that do not fit or conforming to societal standards that a woman’s body should remain the same after giving birth.

During this year’s On The Run II tour, featuring Jay-Z, Beyoncé featured a lot of theatrical outfits that gave her a regal appearance on stage.

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