Michell'e Basquiat Is Already Recreating Beyoncé's Renaissance Tour

Michell'e Basquiat is a professional!

Beyoncé just started her much-anticipated Renaissance World Tour days ago. A jaw-dropping three hours of performance, looks, and chart-topping music. It's inspired fans to travel across the globe to be some of the first to see her return to stage and dress to the nines for the occasion. But few have the devotion of Michell'e Basquiat.

On Sunday, the ballroom community converted on Atlanta for The Purpose Ball which closed Mary J. Blige's Strength of a Woman festival. Sponsored by Gilead, Pepsi, and more, the ball boasted a history-making $20,000 Fem Queen Face category. It called for competitors to show up "in a look inspired by a queen, with a crown." The look was supposed to be one "that speaks to your beauty, elegance, and poise."

And Michell'e, a noted and revered Beyoncé tribute artist, took the ball to Renaissance.

The star, who is the Overall Mother of the House of Basquiat, turned up wearing a recreation of a silver Courrèges look that Beyoncé wore for the tour. Not only did she wear the silver Courrèges cut-out leotard, but she also pulled off a recreation of Beyoncé's silver prop bed.

There's no exact telling how Michell'e did the recreation so quickly (she's become known for it a bit). It's likely that she just saw the images and slept very little while recreating the moment (Eve 6000 from Canada's Drag Race tweeted she met Michell'e while she was shopping for the look). But the hard work served her well. The performer, who competed on Legendary season one, got her tens and breezed through quite a few battles. Sadly, it ended up being Simone Tisci who won the top prize.

Of course, this isn't her first Beyoncé recreation.

Also known as Miss Shalae, just days after Beyoncé initially dropped Renaissance with a complete set of photos, Miss Shalae was off to the races, recreating the looks within a month. In fact, she was not only recreating the looks, but she made up her own performance to the album. Talk about devotion to the craft!

In fact, Michell'e Basquiat is so good that even Beyoncé herself has recognized her brilliance.

Back in 2018 when Beyonce performed at Coachella, Michell'e (then known as Michell'e St. Laurent) turned up in a recreation of Beyoncé's Weekend 1 look on Weekend 2. It made such an impression that Beyoncé recognized it from stage.

"I see you," she says. "How did you do that so fast? She has on my outfit, y'all." The moment makes it not only into the Homecoming documentary, but also into the live album recording.

"I was so excited when she did shout me out that weekend and to see how she included that and to just hear her message after that saying that she wanted everyone to feel included on stage, I noticed that there wasn't any trans women up there," Michell'e told Out at the time. "And so for her to include me in the documentary, I felt that was kind of like her way of reaching out and doing so in that way."

Now, with her moment at The Purpose Ball with celebrities like Mary J. Blige herself sitting on the panel, she's having a moment once again.

And then there was Rihanna!

While $20,000 is history making now, in October 2019 the history-making figure was $10,000.The House of Miyake-Mugler put on a Return of Porcelain Ball and for it sponsored a $10,000 open-to-all-face grand prize. While she didn't recreate Beyoncé, Michell'e certainly made a moment. In fact, it became a viral moment.

The star sourced inspiration from Nina West's Entertainer of the Year performance and had her dress reveal into backup dancers. She was so alluring that Rihanna flipped her off, mouthing "fuck you" in a moment that has since gone viral and been turned into a meme.