The Most Underrated Outfits? Beyoncé’s Looks From The ’90s And Noughties

The Fashion Moments, capital F and capital M, have been few and far between this year, but one woman made sure we had something to talk about on WhatsApp. Beyoncé’s Black Is King, the visual album launched on Disney+ at the end of July, more than made up for this year’s talk of ‘waist-up dressing’, ‘Zoom-worthy earrings’ and ‘loungewear’, with a dizzying array of outfits, each more extravagant (I see your halo) and eye-popping (And raise you a pair of hair horns) than the next.

It confirmed what we already knew: Beyoncé is the absolute master of fashion moments, so much so that it’s hard to remember a time before Black Is King, before the Super Bowl, before Lemonade, before that pregnancy photo, when she was a member of the just-launched girl group, Destiny’s Child.

It was the ‘90s and, besides the matching red carpet outfits that consisted of sequined bras and spangled co-ords, Beyoncé was still figuring out her fashion sense. Something she owned early on was the out-out top - a ‘90s hero piece - that she wore with perfectly coordinated outfits.

At a gig in 1990, the singer wore a chocolate-coloured shirt that came cropped to just above the belly button, with buckled suede trousers and a jewelled chain belt. In 1998, she stepped it up a notch with a firetruck red leather dress that shone with black fringe. Both seem low-key compared to the Super Bowl, but are very much a precursor to the way she dresses now.

As well as pioneering the scarf top at a concert circa 2000 - a trend that has found favour with the influencer set over the past few months - an early stage ensemble saw her pairing a diamante-trimmed leather bra with similarly sparkling trousers. A belly button ring - what else? - was her crowning glory and cemented the singer as a fashion icon in the making.

As Hollywood, and a slew of award shows, came calling, she started to branch out from her fellow bandmates, discovering her super-glam side. At 2002’s Grammy Awards, she wore an amethyst-coloured gown that was sheer on top and slashed-to-the-upper-thigh on the bottom. It was sexy, but in a zero-effort kind of way.

2002 was also the year when Austin Powers In Goldmember hit screens, and Beyoncé’s red carpet wardrobe was as foxy as her on-screen alter-ego. For the New York screening, she wore a gold gown, embroidered with blossoming flowers, that fit like a glove.

To the premiere, she wore another gold dress, this time thigh-high and covered with metallic fringe. Both looks were dynamite (quite literally, she dazzled), but still a little shy of the image-maker we know now, in a good way. ‘90s and ‘00s Bey is like the princess version of the queen we know today. We love both, naturally.

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