Beyoncé is everything, and questioning her status is borderline sacrilegious. Alarms ring off and you look behind you just to make sure the Beygency doesn’t come busting your door down. But yesterday the unthinkable happened when New York Times’ Fashion Director, Vanessa Friedman, proclaimed that Bey is not a fashion icon. That accusation alone will make some people's heads explode or lose some friends, but Friedman brings up pretty good points.
Spurred on by Beyoncé’s history making exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, where seven outfits are on display due in part to her influence in music and fashion, Friedman questions the fashion part. Is she really influential in fashion?
In the article she states, “Beyoncé hasn’t moved, or influenced, the direction of fashion writ large in the way that, say, Rihanna, the winner of this year’s CFDA Fashion Icon award, has.” Then adding that “she doesn’t wear things and spark a million trends, like Madonna once did with her jeweled crosses and lace minis, not to mention her bullet bra corsets.”
Those two points alone really drive her point. While she has 14.4 million followers on Instagram, she didn’t get the same praise Rihanna once received from Tom Ford. There is not one item or outfit in recent memory, like Michael Jackson with his white gloves or Kanye West with shutter shades, that she has worn and everyone went nuts for.
Her icon status isn’t tarnished, though. Beyoncé has everyone imitating her dance moves, introducing new hashtag-worthy slang words, and is still a great inspiration to many women around the world. Also, surfbort. Visit the New York Times website to read the full article.
