The Weeknd's custom Givenchy red suit jacket he wore for the Pepsi Super Bowl LV Halftime Show took 250 hours to complete.
The Weeknd at the Super Bowl Halftime show
The 'I Feel It Coming' hitmaker - who spent $7 million of his own money on the production for the starry performance - had four embroiderers working all hours on his jacket which was bedazzled with crystals for his show-stopping performance midway through the showpiece NFL final between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on Sunday (07.02.21).
Matthew Williams, Givenchy’s creative director, is quoted by WWD.com as saying: “It’s truly an honour to have dressed The Weeknd for his incredible Super Bowl show. To me, fashion is all about infusing what you wear with a unique personality, and The Weeknd brought his look to life with his energy, character and sense of style.”
The 30-year-old Canadian singer - whose real name is Abel Tesfaye - teamed the glittering jacket with a black cotton shirt and wool trousers.
The Weeknd put on a thrilling performance and had the Raymond James Stadium transformed into Sin City, as he performed a medley of his greatest hits.
He first appeared on stage in a floating black convertible surrounded by neon nights to recreate Las Vegas, before the stadium stands divided in the middle with the 'False Alarm' hitmaker appearing in between.
A masked-choir with robot masks with red lasers sang from the stands and The Weeknd stepped out in the red suit jacket his alter ego from 'After Hours' wears and performed 'Starboy'.
True to his word, The Weeknd kept things family-friendly, as he went straight into a clean version of 'The Hills'.
He then went back into the middle of the stands and entered a bedazzling mirrored maze and filmed himself singing ‘Can’t Feel My Face’.
A group of bandaged backing dancers in a similar red jacket then surrounded him.
The Weeknd then appeared in between the fake city skyline as he wowed with a rendition of 'I Feel It Coming'.
After 'Save Your Tears' from his acclaimed LP 'After Hours' and an epic rendition of 'Earned It' from the 'Fifty Shades of Grey' soundtrack, featuring a string section, The Weeknd took fans on a trip down memory lane with one of his earliest hits, 'House of Balloons/Glass Table Girls', which he descended onto the field for with his troupe of bandaged lookalikes.
The eight-song set concluded with The Weeknd performing the biggest track of 2020, 'Blinding Lights'.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing measures, there were no special guests this year, and The Weeknd and his crew performed largely off the field, while there was only a “fraction of the work force” to make the show go ahead safely.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9 to win the game.
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