Beyonce recalls Destiny's Child's tough beginnings

Singer Beyonce Knowles has revealed high-end fashion labels were reluctant to work with her former band Destiny's Child at the beginning of their careers.

The 34-year-old -- who played in the popular girl group alongside Kelly Rowland, LaTavia Roberson and LeToya Luckett -- claimed the big fashion labels were not open to designing dresses for "four black, country, curvy, girls", reports femalefirst.co.uk.

Speaking at the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) awards show in New York on Monday, where she was handed the Fashion Icon Award, Beyonce said: "When we were starting out in Destiny's Child, high-end labels, they didn't really want to dress four black, country, curvy, girls".

"We couldn't afford designer dresses and couture. My mother was rejected from every showroom in New York but like my grandmother, she used her talent and her creativity and to give her children their dreams," she added.

She also revealed that her first costumes were made by her mother Tina and her uncle Johnny, because high-end labels were not interested in working with Destiny's Child, who went on to become a chart-topping band.