Usher dazzles in Dolce & Gabbana and Off-White for Super Bowl Halftime

Cameron Tower
Staff Writer

Usher headlined the Super Bowl LVIII Apple Music halftime show in fashion, donning custom ensemble looks by Dolce & Gabbana and Off-White. Costume designer Tanja Caldwell, fashion director Brookelyn Styles, and creative director Aakomon Jones dressed the superstar in the looks as he gave a performance to remember at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

The 45-year-old star, performing hits such as “U Don’t Have to Call” and “Love in this Club”, wore a multi-layered white and embellished outfit, complete with thousands of Swarovski crystals, pearls, rubies and diamonds. Speaking to Vogue, designer Tanja Caldwell stated that, “We want [the outfit] to speak to what Vegas culture is, and what it has been… We start with a beautiful dramatic overcoat with crystals and beadwork, and things that feel very opulent.. there’s a story that’s being told through the wardrobe”. Every layer of the Dolce costume, even as Usher shed them piece-by-piece throughout his performance, spoke to the splendor and flashiness of Las Vegas the star has called home since establishing his “My Way” residency there in 2021. To add to the allusions, Usher wore a pair of white and Swarovski-clad gloves to complete the night’s headlining outfit – before removing one in what many saw as a nod to Michael Jackson.

Usher wasn’t the only one shining on the stage during the show. Behind a grand piano, superstar Alicia Keys too showed up in her own custom Dolce dress and accompanying cape to perform her hit “If I Ain’t Got You” before joining Usher for an ensemble performance of “My Boo”. The Grammy winner too was adorned in a bejeweled catsuit, the latest look in what has been an extensive relationship between her and the Italian fashion house.

To finish off the night, label Off-White was employed to create the final look for the show, and were afforded just 40 seconds mid-performance to change Usher into a bespoke five-piece motorbike suit, complete with just under 400,000 crystals. Designer Ibrahim Kamara, successor to the late label’s founder Virgil Abloh, created the piece with Usher in the months prior to the show and is heavily influenced by Off-White’s Spring-Summer 2023 men’s show. Both fashion houses ended the night perhaps with the biggest win, wowing the world-stage and audience of 100 million viewers with perhaps the most memorable fittings of recent memory.

Contact Cameron at towercam@shu.edu