After more than two decades in the spotlight, Beyoncé has become much more than a pop icon. She’s a cultural force who has routinely defied expectations and transformed the way we understand the power of art to change how we see ourselves and each other. But at 40, she feels like she’s just scratched the surface.
INTRODUCTION BY KAITLYN GREENIDGE. PHOTOGRAPHS BY CAMPBELL ADDY. STYLING BY SAMIRA NASR AND MARNI SENOFONTE.
T-shirt, IVY PARK X ADIDAS. Pants, ALBERTA FERRETTI. Hat, STETSON. Earrings (left), TIFFANY & CO. Earrings (middle and right), SCHIAPARELLI HAUTE COUTURE. Pumps, SAINT LAURENT BY ANTHONY VACCARELLO.
Dress, GIVENCHY. Earrings, TIFFANY & CO. Pumps, SAINT LAURENT BY ANTHONY VACCARELLO. Horse bridle, bit, and reins, HERMÈS.
Okay, we’ve waited long enough to ask…when can we expect new music?
With all the isolation and injustice over the past year, I think we are all ready to escape, travel, love, and laugh again. I feel a renaissance emerging, and I want to be part of nurturing that escape in any way possible. I’ve been in the studio for a year and a half. Sometimes it takes a year for me to personally search through thousands of sounds to find just the right kick or snare. One chorus can have up to 200 stacked harmonies. Still, there’s nothing like the amount of love, passion, and healing that I feel in the recording studio. After 31 years, it feels just as exciting as it did when I was nine years old. Yes, the music is coming!
What do you hope this next decade brings?
My wish is for my 40s to be fun and full of freedom. I want to feel the same freedom I feel on stage every day of my life. I want to explore aspects of myself I haven’t had time to discover and to enjoy my husband and my children. I want to travel without working. I want this next decade to be about celebration, joy, and giving and receiving love. I want to give all the love I have to the people who love me back.
I’ve done so much in 40 years that I just want to enjoy my life. It’s hard going against the grain, but being a small part of some of the overdue shifts happening in the world feels very rewarding. I want to continue to work to dismantle systemic imbalances.
[T]hat younger, less evolved Beyoncé could never f*** with the woman I am today.
I want to continue to turn these industries upside down. I plan to create businesses outside of music. I have learned that I have to keep on dreaming. One of my favourite quotes is from the inventor Charles Kettering. It goes “Our imagination is the only limit to what we can hope to have in the future.”
I want to show that you can have fun and have purpose, be respectful and speak your mind. You can be both elegant and a provocateur. You can be curvy and still be a fashion icon. I wish this freedom for every person. I have paid my dues and followed every rule for decades, so now I can break the rules that need to be broken. My wish for the future is to continue to do everything everyone thinks I can’t do.
