OPINION | Reigning queen on stage, style flop on red carpets: the fashion of Beyoncé

Every so often we are left gagged, as today's netizens say, when we see Beyoncé on stage. And it's not just the breathtaking performances she gives, but the costumes she has crafted to accompany them.

However, the Freakum Dress singer often leaves the web divided whenever she hits a red carpet. Much like the recent Kim Kardashian-esque look she wore to her Renaissance movie premier.

Very few stars have walked out of the 2000s unharmed by the fashion zeitgeist of the time, so when we look at the subjectivity of fashion it becomes quite difficult to deduce who looks good or not. Rather, true icons remain timeless for their choices and Beyoncé is one of them, albeit being divisive. 

The star's most memorable looks always seem to be her performances, on stage and in front of a camera for a music video. A feat she has pulled off by tapping fitting designers and stylists who allow her to weave her dreams into reality. Her Single Ladies leotard is showcased as part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame while her unfortunate baby bangs were chastised by fans who have still celebrated them.

Leaving an indelible mark on people's minds, her costumes are not just the stars of the show but seem to eclipse the actual fashion moments she should be making when her mic is off.

Throughout the years, she has worked with multiple stylists including her mother to help craft her looks.

“When we were starting out in Destiny’s Child, high-end labels didn’t want to dress black, country, curvy girls. And we couldn’t afford designer dresses and couture. My mother was rejected from every showroom in New York,” she told People magazine.

It's a common issue faced by number of stylists and stars which pushed the likes of Law Roach to craft a look for Zendaya where she would wear garments already worn by other bigger stars. This allowed her to win tabloid wars on who wore it better. Something she did effortlessly as a skinny starlet fresh out of the Disney farm. While it was logical for Beyoncé and her mother to design her looks, the many iterations of Destiny's Child rocked minidresses, two-piece print sets and colourful denim ensembles that left an indelible reminder of urban 2000s fashion. The fashion risks were scoffed at, often landing Beyoncé and the group on many worst-dressed lists. However, these same looks often worked better on stage, much like her denim and heeled Timbaland combo that could transition between different duties.

With her muted looks, she also caught a lot of controversy over the years that would mar her brand. Though she writes a lot of her songs, her earlier career was marred with claims that she was not very original. She got a lot of flak for referencing (without permission) a video by visual artist Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker for her Countdown music video.

She spurred much debate for a collaboration with Tiffany diamonds, made worse by those who felt her attempts to celebrate African culture in Black is King lacked authenticity. Especially after she was not well received for referencing feminists like Chimamanda Ngozi in her music, creating the concept that she was always ready to take from any subculture or group if it profited her. In the mid-2010s, as Black Lives Matter rose, she became more of a media hermit. Thus very few knew what her political stance was. So when Albums like Lemonade seemed concerned with the plight of women since the slave trade to modern times, it raised many eyebrows as she never takes stances on the red carpet or public appearances.

So when she chose to wear a platinum blonde wig to the premiere of her album's visual movie, it left some fans in dismay as the look many may have expected would have been more camp. it would have reflected heavier on the queer community she celebrates in the album and live performances.

Perhaps Beyoncé's issue is not that she can't dress, it's just a lack of continuity from her evocative onstage and music video looks her red carpet ensembles that give little perspective on her creative process and politics.