Now That's Fierce

(NEW YORK) "Even if I came here to appreciate some of the costumes, there's no way in the world I'll overlook Beyoncé," said Harold Koda an hour before the singer's grandiose Madison Square Garden show. And the celebrated Costume Institute curator wasn't the only familiar face at the arena for the singer's big world-tour debut. Thierry Mugler served both as a costume designer and creative advisor for the show, meticulously designing 71 outfits for the headliner and entourage. That, of course, was reason enough for the likes of Nina Garcia, Kate Lanphear, Horacio Silva, Andrew Bolton, Eric Wilson, Hal Rubenstein, and Alexis Bryan Morgan to transplant themselves to the floor seats of the mecca, where they sweated, cheered, and sang along with little girls and 16,000 other ecstatic fanatics.

Beyoncé failed to disappoint. She danced and belted away for two solid hours, bending her body in all sorts of directions while churning out lyrics. The Grammy winner showcased personal clips, changed gears in a matter of minutes, and even acrobatically flew above the arena. She did those Mugler creations more than their fair share of justice while calmly toweling off in between sets. Fashion folks even found time to applaud--after munching on hot dogs and popcorn, that is. "I've always been a Beyoncé fan!" declared Lorenzo Martone proudly. "Even when I still lived in Brazil, I was on travels in London and attended her Destiny's Child show. Immediately after, I bought tickets to her concert in South America four months later. Just in case!"
VALENTINE UHOVSKI