Designers Talk About Crafting Massive “She Wolf” for Shakira’s Upcoming World Tour Stage
When a pop icon such as Shakira sets out on a global tour, the initiative is backed by a strong creative team that assembles various components to forge an unforgettable experience. A significant part of this entails thorough planning, which includes securing venues, enlisting talented dancers and musicians, choreographing energetic performances, crafting striking costumes, curating a setlist packed with hits, and designing an impactful stage.
For Shakira’s “Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour” (“Women No Longer Cry”), the stage design duties were entrusted to Yellow Studio, a prestigious international design firm based in NYC. Renowned for their contributions to broadcast and live events, Yellow Studio has designed stages for distinguished events like the Grammy Awards, British Academy Film and Television Awards, MTV Video Music Awards, and Eurovision. They have also developed sets for major brands such as Disney and TikTok.
The partnership between Yellow Studio and Shakira emerged from pre-existing connections within the music sphere, particularly with her creative directors, The Squared Division. This team had previously collaborated on Shakira’s pop-up performance in Times Square and an appearance on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,” promoting a natural evolution for Yellow Studio to craft the tour stage. Their combined creative vision and mutual trust facilitated an organic progression of the project.
The creative journey commenced with diving deep into Shakira’s latest album to capture its emotional core and transpose it into the stage design. This collaborative process involved numerous discussions with Shakira and her team to guarantee that the stage embodied the album’s themes of personal renewal and emotional growth. The ultimate design aimed to be dynamic, capable of transforming and adjusting to reflect the emotional arc of the performance. This concept was realized through elements such as the prominent, symbolic “She Wolf,” which stood out as a breathtaking centerpiece.
Yellow Studio’s cutting-edge design sought to forge an experience that resonated with every audience member, from those in the front row to those seated further back. The stage incorporated expansive video elements, hydraulic lifts, and operable video doors, all engineered to enhance emotional transitions and foster an intimate bond with the audience. The comprehensive design strategies not only bolstered the storytelling but also turned technical aspects into emotional experiences.
The most intricate part of the stage design was achieving a minimalist look while integrating complex mechanics to enable smooth transitions. The design was intended to enrich, rather than overshadow, Shakira’s narrative and performance, ensuring that nothing took away from the emotional depth of her story.
Yellow Studio’s foremost goal in their work was to aid Shakira in reconnecting with her fans, representing her journey and narratives through design. The impactful collaboration between Yellow Studio and Shakira’s creative team culminated in a stage that functioned as a visual amplifier for her voice, resonating profoundly with audiences worldwide.