Jon Batiste wore a 15-foot cape for his Grammy Awards performance.
Jon Batiste had 20 designers working on his Grammys look
The 35-year-old musician - who took home five awards, including Album of the Year for 'We Are' at the 64th annual awards ceremony - gave a performance of his hit 'Freedom' live on stage at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday (03.04.22), and his stylist Ugo Mozie shared how his "unforgettable" outfit was created by an army of 20 designers.
Ugo said: "His performance look is regal, luxurious, unforgettable. They flew 20 people from their atelier in Milan to Vegas and set up a whole creative costume workshop downstairs, where they are creating everything on site for us. So it’s a pretty magical fashion experience happening in Vegas right now! The looks were all designed individually to reflect everyone’s personality. I went to Milan three weeks ago to meet with Piergiorgio [Meschini, head menswear designer] at the atelier and we went through all the designs."
The stylist went on to explain that the team was aiming for a look that was "bold and flashy" with a "tribal element", and that Dolce and Gabbana were chosen to design the pieces because they gave them "creative control."
He told The Hollywood Reporter: "We had to think which brand in the world could create our vision, nail the costumes, and give us the creative control to be able to collaborate. We were going for bold and flashy, something that really catches the light. It’s a very rich, sequined fabric with a custom yellow-and-gray geometrical print that has a tribal element to it that feels like Africa and New Orleans. It was paired with a clean white silk shirt, a 15-foot-long trained cape and piles of Boucheron jewellery."
Ugo added how the performance - which reflected the Grammy Award-winning music video - the costumes and the set went hand-in-hand.
He said: "The stage is completely custom-built — every pole, every detail. We lined up the fabrics to the color of the walls; we matched the silhouettes and shapes of the clouds to elements on the outfits. We wanted to create a world where the stage and the costumes and the props all flowed together. In the music video, there’s so much vibrancy and action and liveliness happening. We wanted to bring that same energy to the stage."