Beyonce and Tina Knowles launched their “House of Dereon” fashion label during London Fashion Week over the weekend (as we previously reported). And immediately after ripping the runway at London’s Selfridge’s store to announce the label’s launch, the mother-daughter pair sat down with CNN for an interview and talked about their House of Dereon fashion line, Beyonce’s pregnancy and more.
Read the full interview below:
Beyonce: I grew up in a fabric store. Unfortunately my mother would say: “Come on let’s go to the fabric store,” and she would make all of these beautiful clothes for myself and the other ladies of Destiny’s Child, and after so many years my fans said we want to buy these clothes somewhere, so it was a natural thing for us to do this line, and it’s so great for us to be able to do it together, number one because we get to spend time together, and two because we have such respect for each others’ taste.
CNN: Tina what is it like to see not just your daughter but your designs on television?
Tina Knowles: Oh it’s unbelievable sometimes and I never anticipated that. I started designing things out of necessity because there were budgetary restraints. So I would buy fabrics instead of clothes and just make them.
Beyonce: Back in those days they wouldn’t loan us the clothes.
Tina: And it’s funny when you need the clothes they won’t loan them to you, and when you don’t need them everyone wants to give them to you, so that’s how it started but that was very exciting to see the clothes on TV.
CNN: How do you get on with each other? Do you fall out over design?
Beyonce: Sometimes, but it’s very rare. I think we will get into it and it’s usually over the phone, not in person and then we’ll hang up and call each other and say you’re right. You’re right but we have such similar taste, but there’s respect. I respect my mother so much and she respects my taste as well so we have a lot of trust.
CNN: Many fans will call it “Beyonce style” — where do you get the inspiration?
Beyonce: This collection was inspired by a lot of my travels. I did a world tour, I traveled to Asia, Brazil, all over the world and I saw such beauty and my mother traveled with me and we decided we should mix these great cultures together and make something original and beautiful, and this show celebrates the global nomad, and one day at the rate we’re going which is such a beautiful thing, there won’t be all these different races we’ll all just be mixed up and beautiful and that is so wonderful exciting and refreshing you know we have the mixtures of the African hair wraps and some of the Asian prints and we mix it with different textures sequins and gold jewelery and it just becomes very refreshing.
CNN: Miss Tina, is there any one piece that comes to mind that you think that is the inspiration?
Tina: I think the holiday collection — what Beyonce is wearing now. We were inspired by her travels and we did a lot of different prints, sequins, glitz and glamor and we mixed it with some funky things.
CNN: Congratulations on the pregnancy. Does the collection now include maternity wear — everybody will be asking that question?
Beyonce: What I’m wearing today is part of the collection and its not supposed to be, but it actually is really good for the maternity but we didn’t plan six months ago before – actually longer than that – but we do have some things that I am still trying to rock.
CNN: Are you struggling to find things that you feel good in where your husband might go err, I’m not having that?
Beyonce: Actually I am having so much fun, it has been the most fun time now that it has been announced and I don’t have to, you know, it was really difficult to conceal, but now that I can be proud and excited about it I’m having so much fun shopping — it’s great.
CNN to Tina: You must be delighted
Tina: I am so delighted. I’m over the moon.
CNN: Do you know what you’re having?
Beyonce: I don’t.
CNN: And if you did you wouldn’t tell me! Do you consider this more fashion than style and the idea being you’re sort of universal, you are for the universal woman — who is the House of Dereon woman?
Tina: I think trend-setting woman, confident, has her own style.
Beyonce: Yes someone bold, someone who wants to stand out, someone confident, hard working and I think it is more about style than fashion — it’s a lifestyle and we just want to bring out that inner confidence and inner beauty in every woman.
CNN: And has your attitude towards style, fashion changed since you learned you were pregnant?
Beyonce: I just feel like it is often within. My mother has always told me that beauty comes from within and what’s exciting about being a woman is you can say today I feel like being, today I feel really conservative, today I’m feeling classy, today I am going on a date and I want to just be a showstopper and you know there is this variety of beautiful clothes that can bring out whatever you feel inside but it comes from here and you should wear your clothes they shouldn’t wear you.
CNN: So it doesn’t come from Jay-Z — that’s what you’re saying?
Beyonce: It comes from here.
