Lemonade Through the Eyes of Fashion

A deep dive into fashion choices in Beyoncé’s visual album.

Beyoncé’s 2016 visual album, Lemonade, rocked the music industry with powerful lyrics, guest appearances, striking scenes and important controversies and conversations. Aiding in the film’s overall impact were the prominent fashion looks curated by Marni Senofonte, the singer’s stylist. Beyoncé and the rest of the cast showcase a wide variety of wardrobe pieces as the film moves through several emotional phases and focuses in on issues such as infidelity, social and gender injustice, racism, intergenerational trauma and so much more.

In an interview with The New York Times, Senofonte opened up on some of her decision making on a more general level. Incorporating Beyoncés personal history as well as the histories of many Black individuals in the United States, the visual album adopts several fashion themes and influences ranging from Victorian to Africa to New Orleans. Gucci takes on a heavy presence in the work as the designer’s patterns lend well to these themes. Working from an inspiration board tediously crafted by Beyoncé, Senofonte put together each fashion look with a deeper meaning in mind.

“We were thinking about being on those plantations at the time of her ancestors and what they would have worn. At the time, there was slavery, so it wasn’t about that,” Senofonte said on one of the prominent group looks in the album. “It was about looking at these beautiful women that came from Africa and accentuating this beautiful culture and beautiful people. That’s why I didn’t want to do costume-shop stuff, because that doesn’t look rich and regal. I was focused on making sure that everybody looked, well, rich.

Here is a further analysis of several of Beyoncé’s iconic looks in the visual album:

The film opens with minimal style in “Pray You Catch Me.” Beyoncé’s bare face is mirrored by a simple black hoodie, creating an image of a camouflaged predator stalking its prey. In this case, the prey could be her unfaithful husband or crumbling relationship. The scenery and colors are also muted throughout this section, a persona uncharacteristic from the vibrance and glamor we’ve come to expect from the artist. In the next scene when she leaps from the building and plunges into water, she is forced to remove these clothes to stay afloat, a symbolic and literal transition into a new period of her life.

In “Hold Up,” Beyoncé emerges from the water in a yellow dress portraying the essence of Yoruba Orisha Oshun, orisha of love, sweet water, sexuality and creativity. Reminiscent of deeply rooted Black Southern religious practices, Beyoncé embodies happiness and anger in the loose and flowy dress as she sings about her husband’s infidelity and simultaneously unleashes destruction and joy as she walks through the street. The bright and flowy nature of this dress symbolizes emotional freedom and femininity, and aids Beyoncé in her journey to see herself as a goddess and equal to or above her husband.

Diving back into a colorless setting, Beyoncé channels her West African spirituality with face paint from Nigerian artist Laolu Sebanjo. According to an article by Brooke Obie, Sebanjo explains body art as connecting “the spirit of the wearer to music or a mood.” The outfit, hairstyle and beaded accessories go a step farther in exemplifying and honoring this ancient culture and spirit.

A major theme in the visual album, water ties closely to Lemonade’s fashion choices. In “Love Drought,” this group of women are unified in their white dresses, symbolizing sisterhood and rebirth. The white and water allude to baptism as the women enter the water holding hands and welcome in an emotional transition, together. The muted and light colors of the dresses and scenery also foreshadow an emotional softening, highlighting a calm after the storm as Beyoncé moves through her stages of grief and towards forgiveness.

In the second half of the film, this brightly patterned dress makes several appearances, with its first introduction in “Daddy Lessons.” The dress showcases an African pattern with an Antebellum-style cut that creates an intriguing blend of her Louisiana, Texas and West African heritage when paired with the southern, fairytale-like backdrop. This dress and country elements to this song could also highlight the fact that Black musicians have played a wide role in each genre of music, including country, which has deep roots in African culture and slavery.