Dressing a queen! Beyoncé’s stylist Marni Senofonte — who worked with the singer on her Lemonade looks and hooked her up with the breathtaking red Peter Dundas dress for the 2017 Grammys — remains in disbelief over her current job title. “There’s no reason on God’s earth that a girl from Scranton, Pennsylvania, should be working with the biggest star in the world,” she told WWD.
Senofonte got her start in the fashion industry with legendary designer Norma Kamali. “For someone who didn’t even know what the hell they were doing, it was a huge job,” she continues to the daily. Now with two decades of experience, Senofonte, who has also worked with Ciara and Mary J. Blige, been responsible for curating the 35-year-old pop star’s Formation tour style and looks for the Met Gala.
Here are five things to know about the woman behind some of Queen Bey’s best style moments.
1. Senofonte doesn’t wear black.
“That started with Norma Kamali,” the Pennsylvania native reveals. “She did a ban on black for one season and since then, I’ve never purchased anything black for myself — underwear, socks, pantyhose, anything.”
2. Her first styling gig was for Salt-N-Pepa.
“When I was working in the PR department, a publicist came in for Salt-N-Pepa,” she explains to WWD. “I was begging Norma, like, ‘Norma can I please bring them something to wear?’ She’s like, ‘Go ahead.’ So I just put one outfit together for each of the girls, not even knowing what racks of clothing you need — and they loved it.”
Things came somewhat full circle for Senofonte when Beyoncé, her daughter, Blue Ivy, 5, and her mom Tina Knowles dressed as the all-female rap trio in their “Push It” video for an ’80s and ’90s party in October.
3. Jeweler Lorraine Schwartz ultimately hooked Senofonte up with Beyoncé.
After accompanying Lauryn Hill on her 1999 The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill tour, the celeb-favorite bling queen put Senofonte on Beyoncé’s radar.
“They [Beyonce and her mom] knew me and knew of me and my work, so they would reach out to me if they were on tour,” says Senofonte, honored by Us as one of 2009’s Most Stylish New Yorkers. “If they had, like, an American Express commercial, they’d call me. Or if they needed a video, they would call me. I would do these one-off projects.”
4. Overall, Senofonte calls her aesthetic “sexy tomboy.”
The Emerson College grad starts with mood boards and draws further inspiration from people-watching.
5. Senofonte is responsible for some of Beyoncé’s most memorable looks.
From having the singer wear those now-iconic wide-brim hats in the “Formation” video, to styling Bey’s recent photo shoot announcing she’s pregnant with twins, Senofonte has helped the Destiny’s Child alum make unforgettable impacts on pop culture.
