At Super Bowl LX, Coco Jones delivered a powerful and poignant moment that blended music, fashion, and cultural homage.
Before kickoff at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, she performed “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” often referred to as the Black national anthem, in a look that paid direct tribute to one of the most memorable style moments in Super Bowl history, Whitney Houston’s 1991 performance outfit.
Jones enlisted legendary streetwear designer Karl Kani to create a custom outfit that mirrored the iconic all-white tracksuit Houston wore when she performed the U.S. National Anthem at Super Bowl XXV more than three decades ago. Rather than a straight replication, the design elevated the original aesthetic with a modern, athletic-meets-glam sensibility.
The ensemble featured a cropped white jacket with bedazzled stripes in red, black, and green, colors symbolizing the Pan-African flag, and a striking high-low bubble skirt with a dramatic train that added movement and drama befitting the moment. A white headband, a clear nod to Houston’s original look, completed the tribute and tied the contemporary outfit back to its 1991 inspiration.
This tribute was especially meaningful given the performance’s timing during Black History Month, injecting symbolism and celebration of Black culture into an event watched by millions globally. The design honored not only Houston’s legacy as a musical icon but also affirmed Jones’s place in that lineage, using fashion to deepen emotional resonance and cultural continuity.
Stylist Vance Gamble collaborated with Kani and creative director Sankara Turé to craft a look that balanced elegant tailoring with athletic energy. The result was both a reverent homage and a distinctive personal statement, proving that honoring an icon doesn’t mean imitation, but reinterpretation.
Across social media and news coverage, the outfit quickly became a topic of conversation, with fans praising how Jones honored Houston’s original Super Bowl moment while making it her own. Beyond aesthetics, the tribute served as a reminder of music and fashion’s power to connect generations and amplify cultural storytelling on one of the world’s biggest stages.
