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Anyone familiar with Beyoncé’s landmark sixth record, Lemonade, will tell you it’s more than just an album. Personal, political, and unapologetically honest, it stands as the crowning achievement in the career of one of music’s most beloved artists, thanks in large part to its stunning visuals. Whether you watched the HBO special or tuned in for one of Beyoncé’s jaw-dropping Formation tour performances, the impact was impossible to ignore. Yet the full scope of its journey from idea to final product has been kept under wraps—until now. Today Beyoncé will release How to Make Lemonade, an expansive 600-page book that finally takes the audience behind the scenes with an array of exclusive photos, outtakes, and art that shines light on her dynamic use of fashion to convey her message.
The book offers an in-depth look at each element of Lemonade’s visual presentation, putting the project’s many influences, collaborators, and cameos on display. Through collages and photographic juxtapositions, Beyoncé’s it-takes-a-village method of creativity comes into full view. From the Laolu Senbanjo Yoruba body painting featured in “Sorry” to the wardrobe of artfully customized Gucci in “Formation,” each aesthetic detail is now featured and given greater context. Many of these fashion-forward touches register as merely stylish in music video format, but are in fact imbued with deeper meaning. Case in point: One section outlines the connection between a head wrap and Louisiana’s Tignon laws, which restricted the dress of Creole women in an effort to maintain the state’s racist social hierarchies.
A celebration of blackness and femininity, Lemonade wasn’t shy about its social commentary. With Beyoncé evoking the Black Panthers at the Super Bowl in a black leather bodysuit, bringing the Mothers of the Movement onstage at the Video Music Awards, and turning the Grammys into a fertility goddess tribute with an ornate gold headdress, she has used her platform and wardrobe choices to create a dialogue. Tabloids may have focused on the revelations regarding her marriage, but Lemonade’s true message went beyond that—a fact that the book highlights perfectly. These never-before-seen images (including a series of vintage family photos) document each step in the process, and the personal and political are connected for an exploration of what it means to be a black woman with the weight of the world on her shoulders. How to Make Lemonade digs deep into highs and historical realities. An automatic must have for members of the BeyHive—who have no doubt preordered the special-edition boxed set, which comes with a double vinyl LP—it provides something even the most casual fan can appreciate: an inside look at an artist in her prime.
The Collector’s Edition How to Make Lemonade Box Set including double vinyl LP, $299.99 beyonce.com
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