Bitch, They’re Madonnas

As our readers know, The Celebration Tour ends with Madonna on the main stage surrounded by her dancers wearing meticolously reproduced replicas of the outfits from some of her most iconic performance and appearances from Four Decades of music.

While the tour press release mentions 17 archived costumes recreated by the tour designer Eyob Yohannes and Rita Melssen, we actually spotted a few more (and one should also add the former self persona from the early years who’s with Madonna on stage during the speech before Burning Up, the Blond Ambition gold bustier on the red bed during the Papa Don’t Preach strings and choreography, and the reference to American Life at the end of Don’t Cry For Me Argentina, and possibly even more).

Eight looks come straight from the Madonna music video achives and four are from her previous tours (two from the Girlie Show, one from the Confessions Tour, one from Sticky & Sweet); three costumes are from other live performances (two VMAs shows and the XLVI Super Bowl Half Time Show), one outfit comes from a movie Madonna starred in, and three more are from other public appearances.

You may notice a certain prominence of the ’90s Madonna and of Monsieur Jean Paul Gaultier among the designers who collaborated with her along the years.

As for the Queen herself, for the show final number Madonna wears a body sculpting custom-made ⁠corset created by Italian luxury brand Rosamosario and a white wedding veil.

Check out the looks recreated for the show, listed in the same sequence the dancers used to leave the circular stage at the end of Bitch I’m Madonna on opening night.

1. 1993 – Express Yourself (The Girlie Show)
   The Studio 54-inspired segment of the Girlie Show begins with Madonna descending on a giant disco ball,  wearing a blonde afro wig, a ’70s style halter top and royal blue bell-bottom tearaway pants, all topped with a purple boa to perform Express Yourself.
2. 2013 – MET Gala
   The Givenchy outfit designed for Madonna by Riccardo Tisci for the PUNK: Chaos to Couture red carpet on May 6, 2013, completed with a black wig.
3. 1985 – Material Girl
   The pink satin dress with bustier top and oversized bow, white faux fur stole, pink satin opera gloves and rhinestone bracelets worn by Madonna in the Material Girl video as a nod to Marilyn Monroe’s performance from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. The video, directed by Mary Lambert, was filmed on January 10 and 11, 1985, at Ren-Mar Studios in Hollywood, California.
4. 2006 – Future Lovers
   The equestrian costume Jean Paul Gaultier designed for the opening act of Madonna’s Confessions Tour. Jean-Baptiste Mondino will photograph Madonna wearing the same outfit – minus the top hat – for the cover of the September 30, 2006 issue of Madame Figaro.
5. 1992 – Jean-Paul Gaultier Fashion Show Benefit
   The long striped dress with leather combat boots topped with a harness exposing Madonna’s breast to the 6,000 person audience of the Jean Paul Gaultier Fashion Show at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California on September 24, 1992 that raised $750,000 for the American Foundation For AIDS Research (AMFAR).
6. 1999 – Nothing Really Matters
   The bespoke kimono ensemble created by Jean Paul Gaultier for the Nothing Really Matters music video, inspired by the Arthur Golden novel Memoirs of a Geisha, directed by Johan Renck and filmed in Long Island City, New York, on January 9 and 10, 1999: a combination of a scarlet cropped kimono, matching shorts and PVC obi completed by red leather platform shoes.
   
7. 1992 – A League of Their Own
   The All American Girls Professional Baseball League Rockford Peach uniform, a peach colored knee length dress with a large 5 number sewn on the back, worn by Madonna as Mae ‘All-The-Way-Mae’ Mordabito.
8. 1998 – Frozen
   Madonna wore pieces from Jean Paul Gaultier‘s Spring/Summer 1998 Ready-to-Wear collection for her Frozen music video, styled by Arianna Phillips. Directed by Chris Cunningham, the video was filmed at Cuddeback Lake in the Mojave Desert in California on January 7–11, 1998.
9. 1993 – Vogue (The Girlie Show)
   For the third song of her Girlie Show, Madonna tops the black sequined pants and boots she wears since the beginning of the concert with a jewel-encrusted bra with a matching, elaborated beaded headdress designed by Dolce & Gabbana to echo the Thai-inspired choreography of the performance.
10. 1995 – Human Nature
    The S&M inspired, black latex and leather costume Madonna wears in her Human Nature video, directed by Jean-Baptiste Madonna and shot on May 6 and 7, 1995 at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood, California, with choreography by Jamie King.
11. 1987 – La Isla Bonita
    The red flamenco maxi dress with black dots Madonna wears in the music video for La Isla Bonita, directed by Mary Lambert and filmed in Los Angeles on January 27-29, 1987.
12. 1992 – Erotica
    The dominatrix outfit with black leather skirt, black sheer shirt with white collar completed with stilettos, black mask and a whip Madonna wears in the Erotica music video directed by Fabien Baron and filmed on August 22, 1992 at The Kitchen in New York City.
13. 2012 – Vogue (Super Bowl XLVI)
    The black mini dress completed with a hand-studded belt, a short cape and a “Cleopatra” crown created by Givenchy’s Riccardo Tisci for Madonna’s Super Bowl Half Time Show performed on February 5, 2012.
14. 2000 – Music
    The white fur coat, cowboy hat and golden Versace chain jewelry ensemble styled to hide Madonna’s pregnancy in the Music video directed by Jonas Åkerlund and filmed in Los Angeles, California in April 2000.
15. 2005 – Hung Up
    The vintage outfit created by Arianne Phillips for Madonna to be worn on the opening sequence of her Hung Up video, directed by Johan Renck and filmed in London from October 8–11, 2005: pink ballet wrap top, purple sequin dance belt and carmine leotard from The Way We Wore Los Angeles, completed with a pair of Patrick Cox peep-toe sandals in burgundy.
16. 1984 – Like a Virgin
    The wedding dress for Madonna’s performance of Like a Virgin at the first MTV Video Music Awards on September 14, 1984, completed with a veil designed by Katsuko, Maripol jewelry and the iconic ‘Boy Toy’ belt.
17. 1992 – Little Bo-Peep
    The Little Bo-Peep costume that Madonna – as Dita – sported at the pre-release party for her SEX book at Industria Superstudio in New York City on October 15, 1992.
18. 2008 – Futurist Rave
    The outfit styled by Arianne Phillips for the futuristic rave section of Madonna’s Sticky & Sweet Tour, mixing elements of traditional American football shoulder pads with lots of Japanese influences.
19. 1990 – Vogue (MTV Music Awards)
    Madonna performed Vogue as Marie-Antoinette at the MTV Video Music Awards on September 06, 1990 with a stage costume was actually worn by actress Glenn Close in the 1998 film Dangerous Liaisons.

Special thanks to MadonnaTribe and Madonna Fan Party team member Neil aka NSPh0t0s for sharing with the Tribe the pics used in this story.