Es Devlin on becoming an ‘everythingist’ from Goncharova to Beyoncé and the Olympics

As a new retrospective opens, British set designer Es Devlin told the Guardian how V&A East Storehouse invited her four years ago to respond to Natalia Goncharova’s 1926 Firebird backdrop for the Ballets Russes. She adopted Goncharova’s “everythingist” self-description and titled her large sculptural response The Everythingists. In the 30 years since she won the 1995 Linbury prize, her work has spanned theatre, opera, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Bad Bunny, two Super Bowl halftimes, two Olympic ceremonies and fashion runways, with Oliviers, Tonys, Emmys and three honorary doctorates.