Meet the Stylist Behind That Beyoncé Throwback Gucci “Formation” Video Look

Who knew Alessandro Michele’s new Gucci girl was a Texas Bama at heart? Well, it certainly appeared so in the stirring and electrifying new visuals for Beyoncé’s single “Formation,” which shows the pop behemoth exploring not only her Creole roots but those of the storied Italian heritage brand. Trotting out a—ahem—coordinated artillery of female dancers sheathed in matching custom Gucci monogrammed crop tops, leggings, and high-waist booty shorts, Beyoncé rendered not only an homage to the halcyon days of logomania that made Gucci a household name, but the hip hop culture that helped to make it a style phenomenon in the ’90s. Because as stylist and mastermind behind the look, Marni Senofonte, reminds us, “New is the old.”

“I just love Alessandro’s work. I just love what he’s doing with that collection,” Senofonte said by phone moments after Beyoncé stepped off the Super Bowl 50 halftime stage, where the stylist also coordinated the Black Panther–inspired Dsquared2 looks for both Bey and her small army of backup dancers. “I saw how he was taking Gucci in this complete opposite direction from where it was, and then I was like, ‘Let’s just go completely old school!’ Gucci is new and fresh and completely different, but we still have to remember how amazing our pasts are.”

Taking style cues from her own new Gucci Dionysus Supreme GG handbag, Marni reached out to Gucci’s design team for approval, and set to work that night devising the “uniforms.” “There was a whole mixture of bodies in there, and all different skin colors. I had girls who were size 12, I had girls who were size 2. It was really beautiful to dress these women and these amazing dancers. It was great to work with normal girls!” she says.