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Designer Venny Etienne on What It Was Like Dressing Beyoncé for Black Is King

By Allison Crist Aug 07, 2020 6:38 PMTags

Venny Etienne may not have won season 17 of Project Runway, but he's certainly winning at life right now: the Dallas fashion designer just created a custom look for none other than Beyoncé!

Queen Bey donned Venny's creation—a unique, broad-shouldered floral jacket—in her new visual album Black Is King, now streaming on Disney+. As he E! host told Morgan Stewart on Friday's Daily Pop, the opportunity came via Beyoncé's stylist, Zerina Akers

"She just texted me and said, 'I may have something coming up that I'd like you to work on for B,'" Venny recalled. "And I'm like...'What?'"

After his phone call with Zerina, Venny got to work, and ultimately submitted six to seven sketches. 

"We kind of went through them and kind of narrowed it down to this particular look," he said, as snapshots of the jacket appeared onscreen. "I mean, Zerina knows how to push you. 'Cause I was working with, I guess, details I would say that I haven't done before; like the broad, extended shoulders."

The Haitian-American designer continued, "And they don't want any excuses! They just want to see you make it happen."

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Beyoncé's Black Is King Big Moments

And, of course, pull out all of the stops on the queen's behalf. For example, when placing the label from his Levenity fashion line into the jacket, Venny even added a little piece of leather behind it.

"You gotta make a little special touch because it's, you know, going to Beyoncé," he added.

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Blue Ivy, Rumi and Sir Carter Make Cameos in Beyoncé's Black Is King

The entire experience was truly a dream come true for Venny. In fact, just five years ago, he declared in a Facebook post, "(Speaking into existence) Beyoncé WILL wear one of my garments by 2020 (5 yr plan – Vision Board)."

"That was just insane!" Venny told Morgan of the post.

Check out more of Venny's designs on Levenity's website!