In the New Testament, Jesus walks on water as a last resort. Spotting his disciples at sea, their boat pitching heavily in a storm, he hitches up his robes and heads off into (on to?) the Sea of Galilee and to their rescue. It was a big day for Jesus; he had just fed the 5,000 and this miracle came both to symbolise his control over nature and reinforce the importance of keeping faith. The same probably can’t be said for Beyoncé, Rihanna, Jennifer Aniston and the models at last week’s Fendi couture show.
The Italian label saw fit to celebrate its 90th anniversary by sending models across a watery catwalk over the Trevi fountain in Rome. Beyoncé, meanwhile, spent a hefty segment of her astonishing Formation stadium shows splashing about in a puddle in a Cavalli jumpsuit. Before that, Rihanna hit the cover of April’s US Vogue walking on a pool in Tom Ford. The coverline read: “Is there anything Rihanna can’t do?”
Meanwhile, on the front of the same month’s issue of Harper’s Bazaar, Jennifer Aniston stood in (but looked very much like she was standing on) a swimming pool while safety-pinned into Versus Versace.
With both magazines issues coming out around Easter, it is possible that the Christian holiday has some bearing on their creative direction. But what is the real message here? Has it become so hard to contain celebrity egos that they now feel the need to implement major miracles into their daily life? Or had Beyoncé just seen Stomp? A little bit of both, probably.
