“It’s a deeply private mission for me—one which goals to honor these cultural icons and provides them the popularity they deserve,” stated Jones. “I’ve curated costumes and memorabilia to create an immersive expertise that actually takes guests again in time and highlights how these girls influenced trend, music, and tradition.” The second annual video vixen exhibit returned this fall after a one-year hiatus. This yr featured a 3-day immersive set up, which ran this previous October. The exhibit displayed archival magazines, a gallery wall, and video installations. To not point out, the recreated costumes from unforgettable music movies.
The Bronx-born and Brooklyn-raised costume designer spoke to MadameNoire concerning the behind-the-scenes course of of making the exhibit. From bootstrapping its inception to wide-reaching help, and everlasting archive aspirations.
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MadameNoire: You’re a local New Yorker with a background in merchandising. Then you definately started designing costumes, particularly recreating appears to be like from the ladies who starred in hip hop/R&B movies. What impressed you to try this type of archival work?
Biancha Jones: “Each time I’d watch these music movies, I’d see the video vixens, and I’m like, ‘I need to look identical to her once I become older. I really like how she clothes. She appears to be like so cool.’ My love for trend didn’t come from watching runway reveals or something like that. It got here from watching movies.”
“So it went from me simply saying I like their outfit to I’m going to recreate it…I’m truly speaking to them [the video vixens] now, and I’m asking permission. I’m listening to their tales. And I’m like, ‘alright, this isn’t concerning the outfit anymore.’ That is about them. This costume is their story. And the best way that they might really feel after I’d recreate it made them really feel so good about what they’ve carried out. It made them really feel seen. Now this isn’t nearly recreating outfits. It’s about attending to as lots of them as I can in order that they really feel happy with their work. In order that’s how that began.”
Creating the annual video vixen exhibit
MadameNoire: The exhibit options archival magazines, gallery partitions, iconic recreated appears to be like from the mid-90s to the early 2010s. How did you determine what to incorporate within the exhibit yearly?
Biancha Jones: “I put the costumes on the mannequins, paid out of pocket. I’ve a 9 to 5 doing merchandising…[I’m] not wealthy however I did what I might do. My mates helped me. I had no sponsors. The women got here. I obtained flowers for them. All of them began crying again to again. And at that time, I stated, okay, I’m doing what I’m presupposed to be doing.” Yeah, that was the primary one. Then that one obtained good suggestions from the women. They’re like, I need to go to the following one. So I had the second in October, and that’s the place I’m at now…”
“Once I curate the area, I attempt to embody the ladies which can be coming to the exhibit. So I’m like, ‘you might not be in {a magazine}, you might not have carried out a variety of movies, however I really feel such as you’re nonetheless essential.’ You continue to contributed. So I’m like, no matter you’ve gotten, I’ll discover it. I’ll put it up by some means, as a result of I would like you to see your self once you stroll in. After which I additionally embody issues that stand out to me trend smart that I really like, or issues that simply converse to me. But in addition converse to us. That I see is cool, that I bear in mind, like, ‘oh my god, I needed to put on that.’”
MadameNoire: What items and memorabilia didn’t make it into the exhibit? And what do you hope to showcase in years to come back?
Biancha Jones: “[I] in all probability [would] have extra memorabilia and extra costumes out. I’d positively like to have the unique costume designers there too, which might be nice as a result of my costumes are additionally attributed to them. I really like Misa Hylton – I’ll let you know that every one day lengthy however I had her costume recreations of her work from “Breathe and Cease.” I feel that video is like among the best type movies ever. She did an incredible job. However simply having them there will likely be nice. And [also] the make-up artists, the precise journal editors there will likely be nice. Issues like that, I’d love.
1990’s and 2000’s outfits reimagined
MadameNoire: Among the costumes you reimagined have been Melyssa Ford’s look in Jadakiss’s “Knock Your self Out” and Gloria Velez’s look in “Massive Pimpin” by Jay-Z and UGK. Do you’ve gotten an all-time favourite outfit inspo?
Biancha Jones: “I can already let you know, Melyssa Ford, “Knock Your self Out.” I stated, once I become older, I’m gonna be in my boyfriend’s automotive. He’s gonna include a Ferrari or a Lamborghini, have the Playboy ring. Like, that’s gonna be me. As a result of she simply killed it! I used to be simply astonished. I’m like, once I become older, I’m gonna look identical to her. She simply appeared so stunning in that video. The outfit was wonderful – the star pants. Even recreating that, I recreated it twice. [The] first time I did leather-based pants. After which I watched one other video, and I noticed she had on denim pants. Then once I spoke to her, when she got here to the primary exhibit, she was like, ‘yeah, it was denim pants.’ I used to be like, I believed it was leather-based for some motive as a result of it was so darkish.”
“However there’s so many appears to be like. “Excuse me, miss” was nice. I really like that video. The factor I cherished about that video too, from recreating it’s I spotted the significance of sequins. I’d at all times use the flat again rhinestones. These are those that you simply simply glue. However I by no means understood how they actually mirrored, proper? However then I spotted it has just a little silver backing, in order that it displays the sunshine by means of when it hits it. And now I’m desirous about the video vixens on this video, and the costume designer, what they’re desirous about. They’ve this stunning woman in a room of lovely girls in every single place, they usually’re like, how will we painting attraction by way of clothes and lighting?”
Video vixens are ‘cultural icons’
MadameNoire: You talked about that video vixens weren’t simply music video extras. You confer with them as cultural icons – primarily the blueprint for the “baddie” aesthetic. Who’re a few of your favourite previous and current “it ladies” basically throughout the business?
Biancha Jones: “I’d say the following up might be Tyla. I really like Tyla! Naomi Campbell, you’ve gotten Chanel Iman, Jordan Dunn. Oh my gosh. Then you’ve gotten Kyla Pratt. I really like Gabrielle Union. Oh, my God so many, so many. Oh, you understand who I really like? Oh, my God, Tanisha Scott. I do know she’s a choreographer. I’m gonna sneak her in there. I used to observe all her movies and I’d at all times discuss concerning the various kinds of vixens too.”
“You bought the dancer vixens, the vixens who have been skilled dancers, who knew that if they might dance they usually have been fairly they might get into music movies and receives a commission actually good cash. It’s a variety of them. There’s so many, it’s insane…After which from there, you notice it type of trickles on to the influencer period now.”
MadameNoire: In 2023, opening night time was an invite-only occasion. However this yr, it was open to the general public along with press, celebrities and influencers. Why did you make that distinct change this yr?
Biancha Jones: “The primary one I had, because it was my first one, I needed to make it as real as potential, proper? That is my approach of claiming ‘right here, thanks’ but in addition defending them [the video vixens]. As a result of I felt like, typically folks come simply to be adverse. I’m like, I don’t need that to occur at this exhibit. However I’m like, nicely, you guys additionally need to see the individuals who love you come to this occasion too.”
“So this time, I opened it as much as the general public. They got here, they have been actually excited, they took footage with them. And it was one thing that I attempted to inform them through the first time. Like, I do know there’s lots of people right here this time, however there’s 1000’s of people that love you. However it was type of good for them to see that. It was good to see their faces mild up and discuss to the those that they impressed. It’s one factor to inform any person you impressed a technology of individuals however to see the technology of individuals you impressed is one thing that I can’t even think about at this level.”
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