Inside Usher's Final Fitting for the Super Bowl 2024 Halftime Show

Vogue

Usher invites Vogue to his final fitting for the Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show.   Director: Nina Ljeti Director of Photography: Brandon Widener Editor: Evan Allan Senior Producer: Jordin Rocchi Assistant Camera: Kevin Brickwedel Audio: Marc Orozco Production Coordinator: Ava Kashar Production Manager: Natasha Soto-Albors Line Producer: Romeeka Powell Senior Director, Production Management: Jessica Schier Assistant Editor: Andy Morell Post Production Coordinator: Ian Bryant Supervising Editor: Erica DeLeo, Christina Mankellow Post Production Supervisor: Alexa Deutsch Entertainment Director: Sergio Kletnoy Director, Content Production: Rahel Gebreyes Senior Director, Programming: Linda Gittleson VP, Digital Video English: Thespena Guatieri

Transcript

00:00 (car engine rumbling)

00:03 - Hey, Vogue.

00:06 Come with me as I get ready for my halftime performance.

00:10 Come on, let's go.

00:12 (upbeat music)

00:14 We're actually at ground zero of the build out

00:22 of my Super Bowl halftime performance.

00:24 We played 100 sold out shows here in Las Vegas.

00:27 For my 101, we get a chance to have this crescendo

00:32 together on February the 11th.

00:34 Jermaine Dupri was actually the first person

00:37 who introduced me to Dolce & Gabbana.

00:39 I really do think that fabric and the embellishment

00:43 of garments is something that they really do unique.

00:46 And I wanted to have a little bit of that.

00:49 - We decided what the look should be for the opener,

00:54 which was extremely glamorous.

00:56 And so I immediately thought of Dolce & Gabbana.

00:59 That's what they do very well, it's glamor.

01:01 - There's a lot of embellishment.

01:02 You know, we're working with crystals,

01:04 we're working with very raw materials.

01:05 - The idea was in our show, there's an evolution.

01:11 It's a story that's being told through the wardrobe.

01:13 We start with a beautiful, dramatic overcoat

01:15 'cause we wanted to speak to what Vegas culture is

01:20 and what it has been.

01:21 - Yeah, the train is great.

01:25 - Actually, the more you see, the better it is.

01:27 - We thought to shorten it, like even 20 centimeters,

01:31 and then we said, "No, I can't do that."

01:32 - I think it's because you got your pink at the top.

01:35 - Yeah, I think it's pretty good.

01:36 - I do think so.

01:37 - All right, we're gonna pop it up.

01:38 - Strum, you got it?

01:39 - Strum.

01:40 (upbeat music)

01:42 - We're kind of unraveling Usher throughout the show.

01:46 - This embellished coat will be the first time we see him.

01:49 He comes out of it and he unravels

01:53 into what will be one of these jackets.

01:55 - It's a pleat versus a, what do you call it,

02:02 in a tuxedo, tuxedo stripe.

02:04 - Right.

02:05 - You're thinking an elongated tuxedo stripe,

02:08 but it's a pleat.

02:08 You can trick yourself, you know what I'm saying?

02:11 And you start to move it, it's like,

02:14 it's a lot of fabric, you know what I'm saying?

02:16 - And then as we come out of this,

02:18 he will be exposing this beautiful jeweled vest

02:23 that we're working on.

02:24 Usher and I have this fascination with beautiful clashing.

02:28 We've been doing these really beautiful clashes

02:32 of masculine and feminine.

02:34 I walked into a Dolce showroom

02:38 and I saw this kind of beautiful beading on a gown

02:41 and to see it now in its masculine form, it's very special.

02:44 - It feels like just enough masculine.

02:47 - I mean, I just toughened it up too.

02:49 - Yeah, I wouldn't touch it too much.

02:51 I thought you were gonna add like something.

02:54 I would just keep it clean.

02:56 Yeah, I think I'm gonna end up having somebody assist me

03:00 with getting this on and off,

03:01 but if I were to choose to take it off,

03:05 or even, it seems like it should come from here.

03:08 - From that.

03:09 I think everything here speaks to who he really already is.

03:12 So it's never about covering up

03:15 or creating a new entity for him,

03:17 but more like how do we further develop

03:20 or go into the next chapter of who he's been,

03:24 who he is now and then who he's about to be.

03:26 - It's great to have a collaborating partner

03:33 who understands how to create something

03:35 that actually literally works on stage

03:38 because you have to do quick changes as well.

03:40 It is having fabrics that work in flow.

03:42 It is having built in things that release quickly

03:46 and accommodate my movement.

03:48 I have to be able to get in and out of it

03:50 and in a way that makes it feel like

03:52 something magical happened on the stage.

03:54 It's a cover of feathers and then the feathers release

03:57 and oh my God, it's a whole nother outfit.

03:59 How the hell did that happen?

04:00 You know what I mean?

04:01 That's the fantasy, baby.

04:02 You know what I'm saying?

04:03 That's the part that makes this magic.

04:06 - The amount of pressure he puts on himself as a performer

04:09 is the same amount of pressure we put on ourselves

04:11 as his design team, you know, not only for the cast,

04:15 but especially for him.

04:16 The pressure for me is more so wanting it to just be great.

04:20 You know, not good, not okay, but great.

04:24 - Nerves are a part of all of it.

04:26 You know, kind of living in front of a camera,

04:28 you just, it is what it is.

04:31 But that pressure is something that makes diamonds.

04:34 And on that day, I'm going to shine, man.

04:36 (upbeat music)

04:39 What you wear matters.

04:44 It makes people feel something.

04:45 It makes people realize that you put in effort,

04:48 that you took the time to make certain that

04:50 no detail was lost.

04:51 It's storytelling, you know?

04:53 I'm really excited for this moment.

04:59 And I celebrated with an entire group of people

05:02 who are giving their time,

05:03 who are giving their creativity,

05:06 who are giving their passion.

05:08 And I'm really, really excited to share that with the world.

05:11 (upbeat music)

05:14 (upbeat music)

05:16 (upbeat music)

05:19 (upbeat music)

05:21 (upbeat music)

05:24 (upbeat music)

05:27 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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