DRESS FOR SUCCESS: The Eurovision Song Contest, the annual, international music competition that’s been going since 1956, has never been a great fashion showcase. Over the years, costumes at Eurovision — a highlight for many Europeans, akin to Super Bowl Sunday — have ranged from the folksy to the outlandish with serious designers never really having their say.
This year, the competition took place in Stockholm, and many of the singers’ looks remained strange at best, although there were a few — very few — sartorial highlights, and nods to some well-known, style-conscious crooners.
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This year’s winner, Jamala from Ukraine, wore a long royal blue, one-shoulder draped dress and lace trouser combo created by the designer Ivan Frolov following a Vogue Ukraine competition.
Italy’s representative, Francesca Michielin, wore a white top and sparkly overalls designed by Alessandro Dell’Acqua for his label No. 21. Ira Losco of Malta worked with one of Lady Gaga’s stylists, the Australian-born Alex Zabotto-Bentley, whose previous clients also include Kylie Minogue and the late Prince.
Eurovision opened with a tribute to Lady Gaga’s look in her music video “G.U.Y.,” with dancers wearing white cut-out bunny costumes.
The cohost, Petra Mede, wore outfits by three Swedish designers. She previously hosted the contest in 2013 wearing dresses by Jean-Paul Gaultier. This time around, she wore looks by Lars Wallin, Ida Lanto and Valerie Aflalo, all with a large dose of sparkle.