Mrs. Carter Borrows a Summer

In the spring of 2013, while the Mrs. Carter Show World Tour was still moving, Beyoncé signed on as the face of H&M’s summer campaign. The images that came back—beach locations, swimwear, the whole studied ease of it—were less about fashion than about the ongoing project of Beyoncé demonstrating that she operated in a category by herself. Collaborations like this one are usually where pop stars go to seem approachable. She somehow made it feel like the reverse: H&M got to borrow some of her atmosphere for a season, and she walked away looking exactly as untouchable as before. The summer was always going to be hers.