Donatella Versace Spent 1,100 Hours Creating 2 Showstopping Looks for Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter Tour

Published: June 11, 2025

By Michelle Lee, Editorial Assistant, Style & Beauty, PEOPLE

When Beyoncé brought her stadium shows overseas for a multi-concert stint in London, she enlisted the one and only Donatella Versace to create two custom looks. The results? Absolutely breathtaking!

Beyoncé performing in London on June 7. Credit: Julian Dakdouk via PictureGroup/Shutterstock

The first Versace look that debuted on the stage at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was totally Western — and totally Beyoncé — in design, featuring chaps covered in hand-cut and hand-sewn white fringe and a crystal-covered bodysuit. Following that was a quilted ball gown covered in the fashion house's signature barocco print. Together, both looks took a cumulative 1,100 hours to create.

Donatella Versace tells PEOPLE that the gown, between the pair of looks, was her favorite, as it also featured a signature style created by her brother and Versace founder Gianni Versace, who died on July 15, 1997. "Gianni started this silhouette with the very fitted corset and oversized skirt with a touch of cowboy back in the '90s," she explains.

Being the artist that she is, Beyoncé and her team were fully involved in conceptualizing her outfits. Donatella adds that the Grammy winner saw a version of the barocco ball gown when it debuted in Versace's Fall 2025 collection in Milan and put her own flair to it. "She added the crystal embroidered boots, the Medusa Chain necklaces and the cowboy hat to make it work for the tour."

Donatella says that working with Beyoncé was an honor, and while the collaboration alone would've been enough for the designer, she also had the opportunity to see her clothes come to life with her very own prime seat at the Cowboy Carter show.

"She very kindly invited me backstage to see her just before she went on stage. She is one of the most beautiful women in the world, and it took my breath away when I saw her."

When you design something for the catwalk, it is one thing, but then when you see Beyoncé bring a look to life and make it move so incredible on the stage, that gives me the greatest pleasure. She is a goddess, one of the nicest people on the planet and a true superstar. I can see the clothes giving her confidence and I can see how she uses them to enhance the performance," Donatella says.

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