Dressing The Baddest Dancers In The Game

Often times concerts are so well orchestrated that we might not really notice each individual dancer. We tend to be so heavily focused on the entire picture or the star artist. I mean, if you've ever been to a Beyonce concert, it's a challenge in itself to keep your eyes off of the main attraction that IS Miss Carter. However, allow me to invite you to take a closer look at the dancers behind Beyonce, Taylor Swift and more recently Normani!

I was asked to design performance pieces for the opening act of Arianna Grande's "Sweetener" Tour. That opening act is non-other than Normani, who rose to stardom with multi-platinum selling girl group Fifth Harmony. Normani reached out directly with just a few days notice and asked for a new look for her all-girl dance crew. I sent her images of our vinyl styles and together we created custom cropped turtle neck tops paired with our Touch Vinyl Leggings and custom Vinyl Belts as seen on the Kissed the DJ Skirts.

Fun Fact:

I received the call as I was getting out of bed and had no supplies so quickly sketched the designs on the back of utility bill envelopes. Below, was the final sketch.

Once the styles were approved for production, I was sent a single image of the dancers in sweatpants and loose t-shirts; of which gave no indications to their body shape. Along with the photograph, were very rough sizes ranging 2-4, or 4-6 with no measurements. With little time and no way of fitting the girls because they were out of state and already on tour, I collected images from each girls Instagram and watched their dance videos in order to accurately guess as to their measurements and body type. It was nerve-racking, to say the least because I’ve never made dance attire. Questions like, will they be able to move freely in this? Will they sweat in this? Can they kick, split, and twerk in this? When they were finally finished and shipped, I was nervous that they wouldn’t even wear them because it simply wouldn’t fit.

Three weeks passed and I had accepted that this was the case, but then, as I was minding my business swiping through my IG stories, my best friend @IamNewYorkMade posted a BTS of the girls on stage. They wore it. It fit. They looked remarkable!

Photo: @BlairCardwell

I’ve had the pleasure of dressing many celebrities but there was an unexpected different level of pride when dressing these dancers. It brought me joy to see the clothing come alive as each girl demonstrated her remarkable talent. Their bodies moved with such precision and strength leaving me in awe of their power. #GodIsAWoman