Beyoncé has always credited her grandmother for passing down a creative legacy that lives on through her mother, Tina Knowles. This connection is palpable when Tina designs Beyoncé’s stage outfits, infusing them with a power that Beyoncé likens to wearing a suit of armor, saying, “When I wore these clothes on stage, I felt like Khaleesi. It was so much deeper than any brand name.” This familial bond and creative empowerment explain why Beyoncé consistently pushes fashion boundaries, even if it sometimes lands her on worst-dressed lists. Let’s take a nostalgic look at some of her more puzzling fashion choices over the years.

Animal prints often hold a timeless place in the fashion industry, yet zebra print is an exception, its heyday being the 1980s. Despite its faded popularity, Beyoncé boldly donned the black-and-white stripes during her Destiny’s Child days. In May 1998, the group sported matching zebra print outfits onstage, a nod to the past that raised eyebrows long after the pattern had exited the fashion scene.

Reflecting on those early days, she shared, “Starting out in Destiny’s Child, high-end labels, they didn’t really want to dress four black, country curvy girls, and we couldn’t afford designer dresses and couture. My mother and my Uncle Johnny, God bless his soul, designed all of our first costumes … individually sewing hundreds of crystals and pearls, putting so much passion and love into every small detail.” With this backstory, even the quirkiest of fashion choices carry a sentimental weight.

Fast forward to 2008, when Beyoncé’s career soared with the release of “I Am … Sasha Fierce.” One standout track, “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It),” became synonymous with her exploration of retro fashion. For the song’s promotion, Beyoncé embraced a mod 1960s aesthetic, opting for a sleek, all-black look in both the iconic music video and live performances. During an outdoor appearance on NBC’s “Today,” she wore a skintight catsuit accompanied by a voluminous, teased hairstyle, paying homage to that distinctive era.

The now-A-lister shared the reason why the girls had unique fashion from the beginning, stating, “Starting out in Destiny’s Child, high-end labels, they didn’t really want to dress four black, country curvy girls, and we couldn’t afford designer dresses and couture … My mother and my Uncle Johnny, God bless his soul, designed all of our first costumes … individually sewing hundreds of crystals and pearls, putting so much passion and love into every small detail.” The story behind these costumes makes the funky fashion choice a little sweeter. 

In 2008, Beyoncé took her career to the next level with the release of her album “I Am … Sasha Fierce.” One particular song on the album really stands out when it comes to Beyoncé’s embrace of out-of-date fashion choices — “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It).” For the styling surrounding the smash single, the star honed in on a mod 1960s vibe, which included an all-black look for both the music video and certain televised performances of the song, like the one for NBC’s “Today.” For the early morning, outdoor performance, the Grammy winner opted for a sleek, skintight catsuit and a teased hairstyle reminiscent of the era.

Billboard‘s oral history of the legendary song discussed the fashion choices, noting that the aesthetic was meant to evoke that of a ’60s girl group, while the choreography emulated that of the iconic ’60s choreographer, Bob Fosse. Beyoncé’s choreographer, Frank Gatson Jr., told the outlet that getting the look and moves down was no small feat, revealing, “It took three months to put that [routine] together because, you know, even though ‘Single Ladies’ was inspired by the Bob Fosse clip, we still wanted our own originality.”

Destiny’s Child was on top of the music world in 2001. That year, the group took home two Grammy Awards for “Say My Name,” Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group and Best R&B Song, and they released their third studio album, “Survivor.” When the trio turned up at the 2001 American Music Awards, they decided to take things back to the ’70s. The women rocked psychedelic pink and purple swirl-print outfits — in both two-piece and halter styles — designed by Beyoncé’s mother, Tina Knowles, for the occasion. 

That night at the awards ceremony, the ladies took home a trophy for Favorite Soul/R&B Band, Duo, or Group in these groovy getups. Knowles reminisced about her time dressing the group with Essence in 2020, sharing, “The whole thing with Destiny’s Child is that we always drew inspiration from the old Motown girl groups. When you think of a group like the Supremes, you not only wanted to hear them sing but you wanted to see what they were going to wear because they were different, so we wanted to create that on our little budget.” 

Beyoncé attended the 2003 MTV Europe Music Awards in a look that may have been one of her worst red carpet getups ever. The star opted for a Jean-Claude Jitrois leather catsuit topped with a fur-accented, belted leather jacket. Fur and leather clothing have been around for thousands of years, but in contemporary times, fur became popular in the Roaring ’20s, a period marked by pretty decadent fashion. In 1928, Schott sold some of the first commercially made leather jackets for bikers. In this way, Beyoncé’s strange textile combination transported us back decades — maybe even way back to medieval times? Unfortunately, no matter what era it attempted to emulate, the look was disastrous.

Despite the disappointing, off-trend fashion moment, the superstar singer took home multiple trophies at the award show that night. Beyoncé won Best Song for “Crazy in Love” with her future-husband Jay-Z, and Best R&B artist. She also graced the stage with Sean Paul, as the duo performed their hit song, “Baby Boy,” at the event.

Take a good look at this bright orange and turquoise matching fits on Destiny’s Child at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards. It was quite possibly the first, and likely the very last, time this wild combination was attempted on the red carpet. It’s been referred to as one of the most talked-about looks in MTV VMA red carpet history — and that is saying something, considering the show is known for pushing fashion boundaries. 

While it was hard to pinpoint exactly where the inspiration for these ensembles could have possibly come from, it’s pretty likely that Beyoncé’s mom, Tina Knowles, took a page out of the ’40s — back when Hollywood was obsessed with westerns. The heavy use of fringe and turquoise accessories is emblematic of traditional Native American clothing and jewelry. Knowles reminisced about dressing the girl group while speaking to Entertainment Tonight in 2025, sharing, “I got a lot of flak for designing because I wasn’t formally trained. So, people used to put my designs down, and then I’d see them on the runway … I took a lot of abuse for that time, but my girls never wavered.”

Yikes! Once again, we are left questioning if Beyoncé was trying to bring back medieval style at an A-list event. This time, it was her bizarre outfit at the VH1 Big in ’03 Awards, where she opted to rock a fur-trimmed pink corset with a satin, champagne-hued maxi skirt. The corset became a statement outerwear piece in the late ’70s into the ’80s, which was an experimental time for fashion. Fur was also popular back then, which makes this look feel dated for all the wrong reasons — even by wild ’00s fashion standards. 

In 2024, Beyoncé opened up to CR Fashion Book about how she dresses in real life. It may come as a surprise, but the superstar said that her style is the total opposite of these red carpet getups. “My go-to outfit is a black hoodie and black sweatpants. I go through seasons where I literally don’t have a second to think about what I’m wearing. I enjoy consciously wearing the same black hoodie. On a good day, I can sneak into Target unnoticed,” Beyoncé shockingly revealed in the interview. 

Beyoncé transported us back to the 1920s with this ethereal 2016 MTV Video Music Awards confection. The Francesco Scognamiglio design seemed to hail from another world, or at least another decade, with its elegant, structured feather neckline that gave the illusion of wings, intricate beading, and semi-sheer fabric from the waist down. While it was certainly eye-catching, it didn’t feel of-the-moment. Instead, this elaborate feather-forward gown, plucked from the designer’s first couture collection, married flapper-era embellishments with a unique silhouette. 

The vocalist performed at the award show that night, singing a medley of hits from her album “Lemonade.” She also took home a total of eight Moonman trophies that night, including Video of the Year and Best Pop Video for “Formation,” and Best Female Video for “Hold Up.” The impressive showing actually made history — Beyoncé became the most awarded artist of all time at the MTV VMAs.

Latex is always a risky wardrobe choice. The not-quite-fabric material didn’t really make waves in the mainstream fashion world until the ’70s, so when Beyoncé rocked it on fashion’s biggest night, she turned every head. The singer attended the 2016 Met Gala in this pale orange gown by Givenchy, crafted in beaded latex. The avant-garde frock inspired thousands of memes, most of which weren’t flattering, largely due to the strange material choice. Fashion critic Tim Gunn may have put it best when he spoke on E!’s “Fashion Police,” noting, “It has S&M written all over it.”

That year’s Met Gala theme was “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology,” and Vogue noted that the dress’s “starburst of beadwork resembled a constellation,” but the strange Givenchy look didn’t seem to tie into the Gala’s concept that year. The magazine did, however, surmise that it may have been a nod to her most recent album at the time, “Lemonade,” writing, “It was yet another and incredible progression for the red carpet chameleon — and perhaps reflective of the scene-stealing, surreal, and deeply referential fashion of her just-released ‘Lemonade.’”