THE MANY FACES OF BEYONCE KNOWLES

Posted by Bethan Holt, Junior Fashion Editor at Large

Beyonce for H&M by Inez and Vinoodh (via H&M)

Another day, another reincarnation for Beyoncé  a.k.a Mrs Carter a.k.a probably the most fabulous woman on the planet, this time as the face of H&M. It's quite the change of mood after Lana del Rey's sulky, 60s kittenish turn for their Autumn/ Winter campaign. Donald Schneider, H&M's Creative Director, called the new images "an epic fantasy, with glamour, drama and a sense of paradise." That paradise bit probably the consequence of shooting in the Bahamas.

Obviously, Beyoncé is one of the most famous women in the world and must do a trillion photoshoots a month for various campaigns and editorials, but I really feel like H&M have hit on something with their declaration that "all women can be all things: strong, vulnerable, sensual, maternal, fun, flirtatious". It's a contradiction which is not only reassuring and potentially empowering but for which Beyoncé is the perfect poster girl. A fresh way to look at our inclinations to tag/ label/ put people in boxes. 

Beyonce in Miu Miu (www.meltyfashion.fr)

Beyonce, Bow Down (www.spillitnow.com)

As well as her H&M project, Beyoncé also graces the cover of The Gentlewoman's SS13 issue, looking the antithesis of her uber raunched up stage persona. She appears bare faced (and astonishingly beautiful) in this season's key softly minimal looks. There's the Raf Simons ballgown skirt and skinny black jumper which she wears on the cover- shot by Alasdair McLellan on a medium format. Or there's Miu Miu's crop top and denim pencil skirt. It's hard to believe it's the same person who's jutting her body in all kind of impossible to comprehend directions in her videos, or even the one reclining in flower embellished sandals and teeny weeny shorts on a tropical beach for one of the most mass brands in the world. Beyoncé makes them all work. 

Beyonce x The Gentlewoman (thatgrapejuice.net)

Critics might have a pop at Queen Bey for using the word "bitches" loads in her new song, Bow Down. Or even because her new tour defines her as Mrs Carter, which implies (some might argue) her asserting that she is first a wife, second a superstar global idol wonder woman- is there anything wrong with that anyway? In her interview with The Gentlewoman, Beyoncé says "there's not enough of us (female artists) that become moguls". Too true. The biggest lesson to learn from Beyoncé though is, clichéd as it may sound, do what you want, fuck the rest of them. We can't all do that on her scale but even the visual jump from elegantly minimal to tropical beach goddess to vampy Marie Antoinette (in Bow Down) is a reminder of this philosophy. Expect more of the same when the rest of H&M's campaign is released. This so much more than a girl on a beach, it's a woman on a misson.