Janet Jackson's Stylist on What to Expect from the State of the World Tour

[Amy]

http://www.elle.com/fashion/a12228328/janet-jackson-tour-costumes/

Since first announcing she'd have to postpone her Unbreakable World Tour, fans have waited with bated breath for Janet Jackson to return. After a year off and a tour name change, the artist is back, kicking off the State of the World Tour earlier last week. Known for her iconic concert looks (ahem, Rhythm Nation and Velvet Rope) the costumes for the 56 city tour are expected to be a visual treat that touch upon...you guessed it...the current state of the world. We caught up with stylist/costume designer Robert Behar about what fans can expect from the highly anticipated tour.

How did you start working with Janet?

Janet and I met through a mutual friend who was her makeup artist and we started to work from that moment on. The energy was right I guess. We clicked very well and we started moving on from there. It’s been a long time, since 2005. 

You get the memo that she’s going to go on tour. What’s the first step you have to take? 

First and foremost a conversation with Janet. There are a lot of conversations, we talk about things, we change our mind a few times before we get to something we feel comfortable with and think about the theme or a mood we want to represent. It's about a mood versus a look and a feeling versus a look. Then we just keep on knocking it down until we get there—sketches, conversations, texts. 

What were the conversations you had about this tour in particular?

We talk about the dancers—she always places everybody before her. She’s a very kind, generous human being. They’re not done as a group, they’re done as individuals. 

What was the mood you were going for with this tour? 

The title of the tour says it all. It’s really the state of the world. What’s going on, how we feel, about the problems and the unnecessary violence—things like that.

How does that translate into the clothing?

There's a futuristic, urban quality to the clothing. A more gritty and raw kind of look, but still with the elegance and sophistication that she brings to each show. You guys will be blown away by this.

After the conversations, what's next? 

I’ll sit with Janet and we’ll free sketch bits and bits together. I try to read her vision as well and as much as possible from the get-go. Then I’ll start to put proper sketches with colors and details. Once we have a look that we like through the sketches, then the next big element is the fabrication. We try to keep things very sophisticated. And manipulate the fabrication to keep the material looking very chic and very nice, but ensure it still has the easy that she and the dancers need to move in. 

How long does that process take? 

The process of talking about them and creating them on paper takes a couple of months.

Are you still tweaking before she goes on stage?

Absolutely. Remember they’re all dancers—and she’s an incredible professional and perfectionist—so she will rehearse the entire show twice a day right before the tour starts. By that time, everybody has lost weight. Everyone’s bodies have transformed from the hard workout every day.

And you keep that in mind when sourcing fabrics? 

Absolutely. And since we work with fabrics that don’t give we’ll create multiples of costumes in different sizes. With the muscle transformation (the calves are going to get bigger, the glutes are going to get bigger, the stomach is going to slim down) we do that since on tour there’s no time to re-create a garment.

How much does Janet weigh-in on costumes?

She weighs in on everything. Something I love people to know about Janet is that we're always checking the look and considering the details until the very end. Like, if we raise this collar the necks will look longer or if we tighten this area it’ll look better for the garment. She looks at every detail and every garment and every rehearsal with her notes. 

Tell us about the shoes!

We collaborated with Nike on the sneakers the dancers are wearing this year. Jerry [Lorenzo] of Fear of God's also done a section of clothing for us that is very exciting and fresh. We love Jerry. Going back to the footwear, Janet is dancing in Rick Owens. Footwear is so important. We tweak the shoes a lot to hold the ankles and hold the foot; allow the foot to bend but not bend too much and all of those details. We put straps on the Nikes to hold the ankles—things like that.

When you’re discussing tour looks with Janet do you guys reference what you’ve done in the past or come up with something completely new? 

We will reference details like where a jacket hits on the hips or how pants hit on the legs. But I think she’s like me: when the door is closed, we have to move on. She is a fashion icon as well and is revered so she wants to evolve. I will say, we are doing for one little throwback for this show. A little one. It’s to an iconic look. It’s very minimal, though, and I hope people will get to see it and enjoy.

[wayneashleymusic]

LOVE this!!  Especially talking about Janet's attention to detail.  

For those yet to see the tour, I really liked most of everything, with the lone exception being Janet's 90s outfit (it's a bit too baggy for my taste).  But the RN/ What About/ If section looks so good on stage!!  The dancers are all spectacular wearing sleek black with gold highlights.  It's epic.