Darkchild '99
🐵🙈🙉🙊 I need to take a small pause/siesta/intermission in my quest into the perilous waters of swimming (see the last post in turquoise), because — HOLD UP — Destiny’s Child’s infamous «The Writings on the Wall» turned 20 (!) this weekend. This, of course, reminds me of my age 😑
I was a scrawny pre-teen in 1999 and I remember I had such a fixation on the music video for “Say my Name” it border-lined obsession (I was literally plastered to ZTV, Norway’s anemic version of MTV, for a good two months, relishing in all of its visual delights). It miiight perhaps be one of the first cues for me pursuing design. I watched the video again now and gosh darn dammit, it stills holds up to this day. Not only is it because this Darkchild (Rodney Jerkins) produced ANTHEM has one of the sauciest beats ever produced, but also… the scenography! (The different «apartments» the girls hang out/sing/accuse men of being assholes in are 1. Smooth terracotta 🔶 2. Fiery crimson 🔺2. Yves Klein blue 🔹and 4. White/silver (chic)) ⚪️ — the outfits! (Probably all designed by mama Knowles herself; the floral embroidered denim, metallic tube tops and leather pants galore) — the hair! (Beyoncé is sporting a slick backed blond curly coif I tried very hard to emulate for years, but for obvious reasons failed miserably at, oh and Kelly’s hair is cerulean) — the random interior decorator knickknacks! (Eames chair + peculiar vases, truly riveting and bizarre paintings).
I am not going to go into the legal issues that started with this Joseph Kahn directed video, which feature the voices of two newly booted Destiny’s Children (LeToya and LaTavia), but the presence of Michelle Williams and Farrah Franklin (random girl, she got booted too, rather quickly) — because the sheer visual pleasure mutes all conflict; distracts you from the fact that Beyoncé sings more or less the entire song and takes you to a pleasant place celebrating all things monochrome and modulation 🛍🛍🛍
