If it was a big night at the Grammys for Beyoncé, picking up the award for Best Urban Contemporary Lemonade
and delivering a powerful speech about the beauty of being black—to say
nothing of her soon-to-be-legendary performance—it was an even bigger
night for designer Peter Dundas.
He designed the gold numbers she wore, his first solo creations under his own name to hit the red carpet.
Before
launching his eponymous label, Dundas was most recently the creative
director of Roberto Cavalli and headed up Emilio Pucci for six years
prior to that. He’s been dressing Beyoncé for more than a decade.
There’s the marigold off-the-shoulder stunner she wears in the Lemonade video; he created costumes for two of her tours, Mrs. Carter and Formation;
and he’s also the guy behind the dresses she chose for President Barack
Obama’s second inauguration in 2013 and the Met Ball in 2011, which was
Beyonce’s best Met Ball in this writer’s humble opinion.
“Beyoncé
and I have a long working relationship. I think she wanted someone she
trusted and connected with on several levels, and felt the Lemonade
dress had particularly been that,” Dundas told me. “She also knew I was
going solo and liked being the first to wear my new collection. Also we
both love yellow!”
According to Dundas, the
dress took one week to embroider with 50 people working on it
constantly. It mixed Gustav Klimt influence, Art Deco motifs inspired by
Erté, and lyrics from Beyonce’s song “Love Drought.” Sun rays symbolize
the African goddess Oshun. Dundas also added two cherubs on the hips
dressed in ivy and Beyoncé’s face on the center. “I like creating
stories within a garment,” he said. “It was a fun way to celebrate the
moment for her.”
As for designing around a baby
bump, Dundas said, “it’s particular mainly because her measurements
were constantly changing, and also keeping it a secret from my
collaborators became increasingly challenging as she grew.” The secret’s
out now. We’re looking forward to seeing what Dundas does next.
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