Renaissance woman Beyoncé Knowles is adding fashion designer to her already lengthy resumé. The 22-year-old singer/actress told Women's Wear Daily on Monday that she plans to launch not one but two clothing lines next year. The first will be a more ''funky and hip-hop'' line of jeans and T-shirts, she said, while the second will be a more formal collection of dresses and separates. She told the trade paper, ''People my age love fashion and want to dress in designer clothes, but can't afford it. I want to do something that is affordable, but sophisticated and sexy and feminine -- something I would wear.''
Her designing parter, naturally, will be her mom; Tina Knowles, who has served as a stylist for her daughter's trio Destiny's Child, is the author of ''Destiny's Style: Bootylicious Fashion, Beauty and Lifestyle Secrets From Destiny's Child.'' Both women have been front-row regulars at shows during the recent fashion weeks in New York and Milan and have been taking notes. ''We want to bring some of the couture look to a broader public,'' Beyoncé said.
Beyoncé will be joining a marketplace that will already be well-stocked with music-to-fashion crossovers, including Russell Simmons, P. Diddy, Jennifer Lopez, Jay-Z, Thalia, Eminem, Gwen Stefani, and Eve. Pretty soon, there'll be so many musicians backstage at fashion shows that there won't be any left to decorate the front row.
