The Fashion Legacy of Tina Knowles Lawson — the Woman Who Gave Us Solange and Beyoncé

The career trajectories of Beyoncé and Solange Knowles have been pretty astounding. Last year, the siblings became the first sisters to ever hold the Billboard No. 1 slot for albums released in the same year. Performing at such levels of creative excellence and having been raised in the same household would point to a common influence. As the New York Times finds, that influence is their mom, Tina Knowles.

As they were growing up, the Knowles girls were surrounded by the black contemporary art of their mother’s collection. But that wasn’t all: They were surrounded by her own creative output as a beautician and their family’s legacy as seamstresses. Here we walk through Miss Tina’s own fashion legacy, traced mostly through her daughters.

Her Hair Shop

Destiny’s Child’s “Bills, Bills, Bills” video was shot in a hair salon. While that may seem like a curious choice, it had quite a nostalgic reason: It was a tribute to Miss Tina. Growing up, Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, and other members of the early girl group Girl’s Tyme would practice and perform at Headliners, a salon opened and owned by Tina. The 20-seat salon helped the family afford a comfortable life and gave the group an early stage and audience to practice on.

Her Onstage Designs for Destiny’s Child

At the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s awards last year, Beyoncé talked about her mom. There, she admitted that when the fashion industry wouldn’t dress Destiny’s Child, her mom did. Those looks were varied, including everything from riffs on Boys Scout uniforms to the rags they wore for “Survivor.” And even when she didn’t design the looks, Miss Tina usually was the stylist on hand.

Her Red Carpet Work for Beyoncé’s Early Solo Career

The difficulty in getting looks from designers followed Beyoncé into her solo career. It’s only recently that she has won over the fashion industry in a way that allows her to get just about whatever she wants. In the interim, though, Miss Tina was still on hand, designing red carpet looks needed for the Beyoncé’s growing award show appearances.

Establishing the House of Deréon

Since Tina had done so much design, one might ask why there was no fashion label. Well, there was. Miss Tina and Beyoncé started a fashion line that paid tribute to Tina’s mom, who was a seamstress. They dubbed the line House of Deréon, adding a juniors line called just Deréon with input from Solange. Though the line eventually folded, it made appearances at both New York and London fashion weeks before its demise.

Designing for Solange’s A Seat at the Table album

Solange had two impactful visuals for her latest album, A Seat at the Table, that received the Tina Knowles fashion treatment. In one scene in “Cranes in the Sky,” Tina recreates an Issey Miyake piece from 1999. That look shows Solange connected to multiple backup dancers in one long dress. Elsewhere, the star appears in a metallic gold fringe dress dancing in a canyon. Both were created with the help of Solange’s uncle Tim White.

Tina’s White House Moment

Though we may never see images of it, Miss Tina’s designs got a White House debut this month when Solange was asked to perform at a farewell party for President Obama. Though she wore a nude belted dress for her sound check with Questlove and the Roots, for the actual performance (where phones weren’t allowed), she donned an all-white dress from her mother. It’s quite the high point, even if it may not have been witnessed by the masses.