Beyoncé stylist Zerina Akers goes country with new Cirque Du Soleil show
Zerina Akers is a renowned fashion stylist and costume designer, most known for her work with Beyoncé and other high-profile clients, and now she will serve as the wardrobe mastermind for a new country-themed Cirque du Soleil show.
Written and directed by Amy Tinkham, the one-of-a-kind theatrical show "Songblazers" premieres in Nashville, Tennessee, the country music capital, July 2 and will run through July 28 at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center.
Having worked as Beyoncé's personal stylist for nearly a decade, Akers has made quite the name for herself. She's styled some of the biggest names in Hollywood, including Megan Thee Stallion, Chloe and Halle Bailey, Ava DuVernay, Yara Shahidi, Latto, Jazmine Sullivan and more.
Not only has her work been featured in many different magazines, films, ads and other realms, but she's also founded many of her own ventures including e-commerce site "Black Owned Everything." Akers became an Emmy Award-winning costume designer for her work in Beyoncé's 2020 musical film "Black Is King."
As Akers takes on the big country-themed production, she shares more with the USA TODAY Network about the trajectory of her career and how her experiences are woven into the upcoming project, presented by Cirque du Soleil and Universal Music Group Nashville.
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"Beyoncé was one of my first clients, so I spent about almost 10 years as her personal stylist," Akers says. "That's what I like to say was my master class ... just learning touring and performance wardrobe."
The New York-based stylist is now looking forward to bringing her expertise to Nashville for "Songblazers."
"It's such a dream. It's my first time working with Cirque Du Soleil and costuming a show like this," she says. "It's such a huge project."
Akers says the wardrobe is a vital aspect of the unique experience viewers will witness.
“I think it's the first time Cirque has partnered with a music company," Akers says. "So it's a country music show and an exploration around song and music with the classic Cirque Du Soleil extravagant performances. (And) I think the combination of this show is shaping up to be so beautiful.”
The show's debut comes as country music takes center stage. Beyoncé recently released her eighth studio album, "Cowboy Carter," which took the world by storm and influenced many different industries.
"I'm most excited for that intersection of music and iconic history and culture, and then something new to bring a nice fresh audience into Cirque," Akers says. "Because Cirque has their loyal fan base the same way country music does. But I think to also bring in a fashion audience and have those three intersect, I'm super excited for people to experience the show in that way."
And Akers says the timing was pure serendipity.
"It's interesting because I think that a lot of people are experiencing and exploring country music in a new way, or sometimes even for the first time," Akers says. "So coming into this — we started this project almost a year ago —who knew that there would be this like shape shift and culture around country music, so timing is really perfect."
It certainly seems to be the perfect intersection for Akers, who still collaborates with the Grammy-winning singer along with many other artists.
"In terms of the wardrobe and costuming the show, for me, it was important to explore the codes — the codes that already exist in Western fashion and the codes that we've grown to appreciate that I've utilized in much of my styling," she said.
When breathing life into the wardrobes of "Songblazers" characters, Akers adds, "It is important for me to explore new silhouettes and journey through time and history to bring different nuances into the wardrobe. ... So, it's really an exciting journey to explore prints and different colors and textures and characters and to tell those characters' stories through fashion."
"Songblazers" will move to cities outside Nashville beginning Aug. 1, with the final show taking place Oct. 27 in St. Louis.
Follow Caché McClay, the USA TODAY Network's Beyoncé Knowles-Carter reporter, on Instagram, TikTok and X as @cachemcclay.