Last month's story suggesting that Beyoncé wasn't a style icon but just a regular, all-around icon was met by all kinds of responses, with some agreeing and some not. In the latter camp was designer Michael Costello, a Project Runway alum who created some of the latest fit-for-a-queen costumes she just debuted on tour. "I was really shocked at the article. Beyoncé is the absolute fashion icon," he told me. "Her style is influential, and she takes chances and doesn't play it safe."
The superstar didn't prove him wrong with the Costello-designed pieces she just broke out on the road: a lacy leotard with oversize bell sleeves and a metallic, high-cut one-piece. They're standard Bey-fare (a.k.a. sexy) but turned up a notch into the sort of editorial-friendly pieces a fashion editor would pluck for a shoot. And if they made either look available for the masses, they might just sell out, fashion-icon-style. When it comes to the singer, "it's not just what you wear but how you wear it. And where you're wearing it too. When she wore our dress to the Grammys [last year], we sold 15,000 copies. That is style power."
