The designer behind Beyoncé's Super Bowl costumes speaks out
While the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers rested in their locker rooms during Super Bowl 50 on Sunday, Beyoncé's halftime performance focused on a different kind of Panther.
Dressed in custom-made harnesses by designer Zana Bayne, the singer's back-up dancers also sported afros and berets, a nod to similar styles traditionally worn by members of the Black Panther Party. The radical black political group first rose to prominence in the mid-'60s as a way to protest systemic oppression of black Americans.
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Though the party dissolved in the U.S. in 1982, recent events involving police violence against black Americans have reignited a movement.
Activist groups like Black Lives Matter and the Black Panther Party served as inspiration for Beyoncé latest song, "Formation," which the signer debuted in a surprise video release on Saturday.
Before the release, designer Bayne received a top-secret request from Marni Senofonte’s studio (the style team responsible for Beyoncé's game day look) in mid-January, asking Bayne to conceptualize designs for the pop star's army of half time dancers, with activist themes.
"...it was all about girl power."
"Throughout the design process, it was important to keep the idea of a strong and confident woman in mind, that it was all about girl power," Bayne told Mashable, describing the direction she was given. "Early on in conversation, the iconic women of the Black Panther Party were mentioned as a reference, so we kept that idea of revolutionary women in mind when creating the harnesses."
Like the Super Bowl, the Black Panther Party also celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Whether or not this specific fact was key in crafting the troupe's aesthetic, Bayne couldn't say.
On Monday, Feb. 1, after weeks of reworking her sketches and communicating with Beyoncé's team, the designer was told she had the job. She could barely enjoy a sigh of relief. There were only six days before the game and she had 38 custom harnesses to make.
"Luckily we have the unique ability of producing all of our pieces in New York, with many of the styles made directly in our New York atelier," Bayne told Mashable. "We started working on the harnesses on Monday, and finished them Tuesday evening just in time to send out to California. Every harness in the performance was made individually from start to finish by hand with my dedicated team."
Bayne is no stranger to working under pressure for music royalty. She's crafted pieces for Beyoncé before and has also worked with Nicki Minaj, Rihanna and Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood" squad.
The harness style will become part of her upcoming collection and available for purchase this spring at the brand's first New York pop-up shop.
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Noelle Sciacca is a Fashion Reporter at Mashable. Noelle writes on the intersection of fashion and the media. A graduate of Liberty University with a degree in Business Marketing, Noelle previously worked for SELF Magazine and Lucky Magazine. At Mashable, her aim is to make the most innovative, entertaining, and empowering fashion content on the web.
