Beyoncé has paid homage to a transgender trailblazer with her Mugler shoot.
The fashion house has shared a mind-blowing new shot of the icon from the Cowboy Carter vinyl, in which she poses in front of a golden motorcycle and star-shaped flames in an ensemble from their Spring Summer 1992 ‘Cow-Boys’ collection.
After publishing the photo, fans immediately recognised the embroided red cowgirl attire as the one worn by transgender model and legend Connie Fleming, aka Connie Girl, in Mugler’s aforementioned Western-themed runway.
Fleming, who served as an inspiration for both the late Mugler and Vivienne Westwood, later championed Beyoncé’s interpretation as she shared a post from LGBTQIA+ publication them.
In 2023, Fleming spoke to models.com about her illustrious career and reflected on the obstacles she faced as a transgender woman in the fashion industry. Because she wasn’t out at the start of her career, she revealed “there were a lot of things I wasn’t put up for or could do because it would be seen as subversive or pushing a narrative”.
“Both Thierry, Vivienne, and [Jean Paul] Gaultier – and there were a couple of others – wanted to show the world beauty, in all of its aspects and configurations, and they didn’t put it out there as a spectacle,” she explained.
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In another interview for V Magazine, alongside Tracey Norman – the first African-American trans woman to achieve mainstream success in fashion – Fleming remembered how, when she was outed as trans, she “saw the ice closing in around my ankles” and believed she would be “ex-communicated”.
“Those were the sort of challenges of being trans and Black at that time in the early ‘90s when they could say anything and make the narrative what they wanted it to be,” she continued.
“Also at this time, all the talk shows were trying to target trans people and push this message of, “Oh, this is a trend in fashion.””
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Beyoncé has unapologetically celebrated various queer and trans artists in recent years, with her seminal seventh studio album Renaissance paying homage to the Black and LGBTQIA+ pioneers of disco, funk, house music and ballroom.
‘Cozy’ memorably samples Drag Race judge Ts Madison’s viral video ‘Bitch I’m Black’ and features production from Honey Dijon. It peaked in the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, making Madison and Dijon the first Black trans women in history to do so.
Beyoncé released her eighth studio album, Cowboy Carter, in March 2024 to widespread critical acclaim. Fronted by singles such as the Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’, ’16 Carriages’ and the Miley Cyrus-assisted ‘II Most Wanted’, the 27-track collection spotlights the overlooked contributions of Black pioneers to the country and Americana genres.
It is widely rumoured that her next album, the third in her planned trilogy of albums, will do the same for the rock genre.
RELATED: ‘Beyoncé’s Renaissance means so much to me as an LGBTQ+ person of colour’
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