Late last year, Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter told her fans she was giving herself permission to focus on her joy and the internet went nuts. What did this mean? Was Beyoncé retiring? No, she’s just evolving — and apparently dropping Ivy Park collections back to back.
“I came into the music industry at 15 years old and grew up with the world watching, and I have put out projects non-stop,” she told British Vogue’s editor-in-chief Edward Enniful. “I released Lemonade during the Formation World Tour, gave birth to twins, performed at Coachella, directed Homecoming, went on another world tour with Jay, then Black Is King, all back to back,” she continued. “It’s been heavy and hectic. I’ve spent a lot of time focusing on building my legacy and representing my culture the best way I know how. Now, I’ve decided to give myself permission to focus on my joy.”
And during quarantine, Beyoncé found joy dressing up with her three kids during what she dubbed ‘Fashion Fridays.’ “Every Friday, we would dress up in my clothes or make clothes together and take each other’s pictures,” she shared. “It became a ritual for us and an opportunity to handle this crazy year together. The [first] Ivy Park collection [last October] was inspired by this new tradition. It consciously uses bright, bold colors to remind us to smile. I used a lot of neon yellow and coral mixed with baby blue and earth tones that felt soothing. They brought me joy and made me smile in the midst of a tough time for all of us.”
Perhaps, that is why Queen Bey has consistently dropped Ivy Park collections back to back. Okay, so there was the very first drop after she bought her brand back from Topshop that came out back in January 2020. Then Drop 2 in October 2020, and then the black pack collection in November 2020, and today, February 19, she launches her latest: Icy Park on Adidas at 4 p.m. EST.
The way Beyoncé is dropping these Ivy Park collections is very unlike the way she releases her musical projects. When it comes to Ivy Park, Beyoncé leads up to her drops with so much Instagram content despite her perchant for surprise visual album releases. However, it is refreshing to see Beyoncé having fun with her clothing collections. It’s the cherry on top of her style sunday, er, evolution. From the days of her mother, Tina Knowles, making the costumes for Destiny’s Child to their short-lived project House of Dereon to buying Ivy Park from Topshop, Beyoncé seems to really have found her footing — and joy.
