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Here are 8 Times Beyoncé Showed Her Love for the Region Through her Style

Beyoncé wears Azzi & Osta at the 2018 Grammy Awards. Courtesy of Azzi & Osta

She is undoubtedly one of the world’s most famous faces, with multiple Grammys, myriad albums, and 116 million Instagram followers to her name. And while Beyoncé can – and does – have her pick from any of the globe’s thousands of designers, the singer and actor has routinely turned to labels from our neck of the woods in recent years. Here, we round up some of her most iconic fashion moments that have a link to the region.

#1 When she wore Lebanese couture to this gala

For the City of Hope Gala, held in California in October, the star hit the red carpet in an autumnal, black velvet creation from Elie Saab. Embellished with sequins and beading across the shoulder, the peplum number was imbued with a certain gothic romance and drama.

#2 When she repped a Tunisian milliner in a viral video

For one of her latest singles, Queen Bey and husband Jay-Z took over the Louvre (the one in France, though we’d love to see her do the equivalent here in Abu Dhabi). During the video, which dropped in June, the American superstar sported a floor-sweeping turban by French-Tunisian designer Donia Allegue, teamed with a neutral bodysuit by Cadolle. The “exceptional headpiece” took eight painstaking hours to handcraft, Allegue told Vogue.me, and is made up of six meters of dotted tulle. This also wasn’t the first occasion the mother-of-three wore the label, having donned one of Allegue’s turbans while celebrating her ninth wedding anniversary with Jay-Z in 2016, as well as to a party in New York City in 2015.

#3 When she carried an Egyptian bag to see an Egyptian icon

In August, Queen B paid homage to Queen Nefertiti by visiting a bust of the Egyptian ruler carrying a bag from the North African nation. The 36-year-old toted Okhtein’s Rodhawk handbag during a tour of Berlin’s Neues Museum, as she dropped by with Jay-Z during the pair’s On The Run II tour. The 2016 DDFC/Vogue Fashion Prize winning brand, helmed by sisters Aya and Mounaz Abdelraouf, has previously been sported by the star on her Instagram, when she strapped on a leather belt bag from the brand late last year.

#4 When she paid homage to Nefertiti with her hair

The above wasn’t the first time the star drew inspiration from the iconic Egyptian queen. Beyoncé sported these intricate braids in a short film released with her album Lemonade, which were wound into a Queen Nefertiti-inspired crown. The look was created by the singer’s longtime hair guru and celebrity hairstylist, Kim Kimble, and took four hours to create.

#5 When she helped put one Kuwaiti designer on the fashion map

Beyoncé wearing Yousef Aljasmi in the “Sorry” video

He’s now an internationally acclaimed couturier who has dressed everyone from Mariah Carey to Kim Kardashian West, but Beyoncé was the first A-lister to champion Yousef Aljasmi. The Kuwaiti designer was commissioned in 2015 to make a Swarovski-detailed black bodysuit, which the star wore in her Sorry music video a year later. “For my pieces to be selected and favored by people from the other side of the world – despite the presence of many storied international fashion houses – is not something to be undervalued,” he told Vogue Arabia in his first-ever interview earlier this year.

#6 When she wore Lebanese label after Lebanese label

The Halo songstress clearly rates designers from our region, but couturiers from one country in particular seem to catch her eye time after time. From Zuhair Murad to Elie Saab, Beyoncé has turned to Lebanese labels for awards shows and premieres for years, and made particular impact in two design houses at the start of 2018. The Texan-born beauty chose not one, but two statement gowns by Middle Eastern couturiers to wear to the pre-Grammys gala and the awards ceremony, namely Azzi & Osta and Nicolas Jebran (above). Trust Queen B to prove that LBDs are anything but boring.

#7 When she dazzled in this embroidered mini

Beyoncé in Jean-Louis Sabaji at the 2018 Wearable Art Gala

The Queen was on fire at this year’s Wearable Art Gala – almost literally, judging by those embellished shoulders – in Jean-Louis Sabaji. The Lebanese designer dressed the star for the fashion function, which was hosted by Beyoncé’s mother, Tina Lawson. The voluminous Sphinx Abaya featured delicate embroidery and a floor-sweeping train, for a finish that ensured the singer scored a spot on every best-dressed list on the night.

#8 When she rocked this bedazzled hoodie on stage

Designers of the region may have dressed the icon for many a red carpet, but Beyoncé has been known to sport Arab labels while performing, too. The Lemonade star wore this Swarovski-embellished, hooded dress by Rami Kadi during her On The Run II tour in June, which sparkled just as brightly as her vocals.

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