Beyoncé Is a Midnight Cowboy Carter In ’90s Versace

Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter is officially here, and the superstar is only doubling down on her recent run of method dressing. In fact, Beyoncé just pulled out perhaps the holy grail of cowboy fashion: ’90s vintage Versace.

At last night’s iHeartRadio Music Awards, Beyoncé slipped into an archival look from Gianni Versace’s Western-inspired fall 1992 collection. Of course, her outfit featured plenty of leather and flashy gold detailing. Beyoncé sported a plunging long sleeve top (complete with black fringe along the sleeves) paired with embellished high-waisted pants. She accessorized her look with not one, but two chunky, studded belts and a gold-trimmed cowboy hat. The star rounded everything out with wavy blonde curls, black sunglasses, and gold hoop earrings.

There’s no denying that vintage fashion has taken over nearly every facet of celebrity style in recent months. But Beyoncé’s particular look has quite the backstory. Aside from debuting on the 1992 runway—where none other Naomi Campbell modeled a similar outfit—Beyoncé’s catsuit was also the subject of one of the Italian’s brand campaigns that same year.

The Versace advertisement starred a trio of the decade’s top models—Yasmeen Ghauri, Christy Turlington, and Caludia Schiffer—wearing variations of what the brand dubbed the “Midnight Cowgirl.” Beyoncé appeared to sport a combination of the three outfits, taking Schiffer’s catsuit with Turlington and Ghauri’s cowboy hats and topping those off with her own belts and accessories.

Beyoncé was on hand to pick up the Innovator Award. In a rare speech, she spoke about her creative process and paid homage to the trailblazers that came before her. “Thank you so much Stevie, I love you. I love you and I honor you. I want to thank you for making a way for all of us,” she said of Stevie Wonder, who presented her with the award.

“Innovation starts with a dream,” she added. “But then you have to execute that dream, and that road can be very bumpy. Being an innovator is seeing what everyone believes is impossible. Being an innovator often means being criticized, which often will test your mental strength. Being an innovator is leaning on faith and trusting that God will catch you and guide you. So, to all the record labels, every radio station, every award show, my hope is that we’re more open to the joy and liberation that comes from enjoying art with no preconceived notions. I want to dedicate this award to all the innovators who have dedicated their lives and their art to creating shifts.”

Beyoncé finished her speech by shouting out the musical giants who inspired her new album. “Thank you to Rosetta Tharpe. Miss Tracy Chapman, Linda Martell, Prince, Stevie Wonder, André 3000, Tina Turner, Michael Jackson and so many more who defied any label placed upon them. Thank you for executing your dream so we could all follow.”