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

Hey Vogue, come with me

as I get ready for my halftime performance.

Come on, let's go.

[upbeat music]

We're actually at ground zero of the build-out

of my Super Bowl halftime performance.

We played 100 sold-out shows here in Las Vegas.

For my 101,

we get a chance to have this crescendo together

on February the 11th.

Jermaine Dupri was actually the first person

who introduced me to Dolce & Gabbana.

I really do think that fabric

and the embellishment of garments is something

that they really do unique,

and I wanted to have a little bit of that.

We decided what the look should be for the opener,

which was extremely glamorous.

And so, I immediately thought of Dolce & Gabbana.

That's what they do very well, is glamour.

[Usher] There's a lot of embellishment.

You know, we're working with crystals.

We're working with very raw materials.

[upbeat music continues]

[Tanja] The idea was, in our show, there's an evolution,

there's a story that's being told through the wardrobe.

We start with a beautiful, dramatic overcoat,

'cause we wanted to speak to what Vegas culture is

and what it has been.

Yeah, the train is great.

Actually, the more you see it, the better.

[Designer] We thought to shorten it,

like even 20 centimeters, and then we said no.

There's too much drama. Yeah. I think it's free.

It's drama, you know what I mean?

We're kind of unraveling Usher throughout the show.

This embellished coat will be the first time we see him.

He comes out of it,

and he unravels into what will be one of these jackets.

It is a pleat versus a, what do you call it, in a tuxedo?

Tuxedo stripe.

You're thinking an elongated tuxedo stripe,

but it's a pleat.

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

And you start to move it,

and it's like, it's a lot of fabric.

You know what I'm saying?

And then, as we come out of this,

he will be exposing this beautiful,

jeweled vest that we're working on.

Usher and I have this fascination with beautiful clashing.

We've been doing these really beautiful clashes

of masculine and feminine.

I walked into a Dolce showroom,

and I saw this kind of beautiful beading on a gown.

And to see it now in its masculine form, it's very special.

It feels like just enough masculine.

I mean, I just toughened it up too.

Yeah, I wouldn't touch it too much.

I thought you were gonna add like something.

No, just keep it clean.

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

with getting this on and off,

but if I were to choose to take it off,

it seems like it should come from here to there.

I think everything here speaks to

who he really already is.

So, it's never about it covering up

or creating a new entity for him,

but more like, how do we further develop,

we're going to the next chapter of who he's been,

who he is now, and then who he's about to be.

[upbeat music]

It's great to have a collaborating partner

who understands how to create something

that actually literally works on stage,

because you have to do quick changes as well.

It is having fabrics that work and flow.

It is having built-in things that release quickly

and accommodate my movement.

I have to be able to get in and out of it,

and in a way that makes it feel

like something magical happened on the stage,

just a cover of Feathers,

and then the feathers releasing.

Oh, my god, it's a whole nother outfit.

How the hell did that happen?

You know what I mean?

That's the fantasy, baby.

You know what I'm saying?

That's the part that makes this magic.

The amount of pressure he puts on himself

as a performer is the same amount

of pressure we put on ourselves as his design team,

you know, not only for the cast, but especially for him.

The pressure for me is more so wanting it to just be great,

you know, not good, not okay, but great.

Nerves are a part of all of it, you know?

Kinda living in front of a camera, you just,

it is what it is,

but that pressure is something that makes diamonds.

And on that day, I'm gonna shine, man.

[upbeat music]

What you wear matters.

It makes people feel something.

It makes people realize that you put in effort,

that you took the time to make certain

that no detail was lost.

But it's storytelling, you know?

I'm really excited for this moment,

and I celebrate it with an entire group of people

who have given their time, who have given their creativity,

who have given their passion,

and I'm really, really excited to share that with the world.

[upbeat music]