The Super Bowl show has been a huge event since 1967, that’s just one year after the first ever game. Since then there have been a ton of performers from big name celebs such as Michael Jackson, Prince, Janet Jackson and Beyonce, to college marching bands. From the first performance up to now, the fashion has changed drastically.
The marching bands who performed would just wear their school uniform, but once the celebrities started performing, they stepped up the fashion game with both well known and upcoming designers. You can see the drastic difference even within the past 15 years, which seems like nothing when it comes to time.
Not only is it a huge honor to be asked to perform at the Super Bowl Half-time show, but it is also a huge honor to style/design the outfits. Many designers, both globally known and unknown have had the honor. About 15 years ago the late great Alexander McQueen had the honor of dressing Janet Jackson for her 2004 performance with JT. If you do not remember the outfit or the performance, maybe you will remember the garment malfunction. This may not be the way that McQueen intended to continue to rise in the design world, but it did get people talking and whether good or bad press people were still talking about him.
With millions of viewers and increasing each year, designers are getting amazing exposure. It is no Fashion Week, but it is not intended to be. The designers working on the garments are able to produce a show-stopping piece that not only helps catapult the performer further into stardom but also gets the designers name out there.
When I think of Super Bowl designers, I think of the best of the best. They are not looking to boost sales, but instead gain the recognition of being the top designer for the year. Take Jeremy Scott for example. He produced the entire wardrobe for Katy Perry’s 2014 performance after gaining huge recognition for his Barbie inspired collection. The Barbie collection catapulted him further than his other collections and made him one of the top designers for the season.
Recently there has been a ton of exposure for Versace. Known as a timeless, classic and worldwide brand, Versace had the immense honor to design this year’s garments for Lady Gaga. To see the amazing work that was put into to garments, made the performance that much more spectacular and let’s face it, Lady Gaga SLAYED it!
No matter what, the Super Bowl Half-time performance will continue to get larger and more spectacular with both the performances and the designers. I will leave you with a list of a few performances and designers that you can see the vast style differences with.
2004 Janet Jackson in Alexander McQueen
2013 Beyonce in Rubin Singer
2014 Bruno Mars in Saint Laurent
2015 Katy Perry in Moschino/Jeremy Scott
2016 Coldplay Styled by Beth Fenton
2017 Lady Gaga in Versace