FINEST HOUR FOR
The glitz, glamour and spectacularly gaudy costumes are what makes Eurovision unmissable, writes
THE flower beards, alien wolf heads and disco cowboys of the 2022 Eurovision parade rival even the most bonkers outfit on a fashion week catwalk. For more than six decades, the singing Olympics have been as synonymous with costume drama as with power ballads and pop bops.
Australia’s representative Sheldon Riley is rocking one of the most elaborate stage outfits in the Turin competition, designed by Melbourne couturier Alin Le’Kal.
Weighing 40 kilograms with more than 100,000 hand-sewn Swarovski crystals, pearls and ostrich feathers and a three-metre long cape, the white ensemble took more than 2200 hours to create.
Riley’s baroque costume and chain mail mask have turned heads in the artists’ backstage bubble at the Pala Olimpico in Turin.
“I love it; getting a reaction was why I started this … there are four people behind me holding it as I walk down the corridor. And they’re real Swarovski crystals so when you see it under the light, they sparkle like Dami’s did,” he said.
The singer’s styling team, Kobi Bokshish and Lucy Sylvester, have also been in fashion heaven at Eurovision.
The pair were big fans of the facial flora sported by a mysterious member of Georgia’s rock band Circus Mircus.
“I could see (Australian fashion brand) Romance Was Born doing that,” Sylvester said.
All the focus on the Norwegian “aliens” Subwoolfer has been on their canary yellow headwear than their comedic song Give That Wolf A Banana. Bokshish believes the outlandish outfits overwhelm their vocal performance.
“They remind me of some medieval sex party where everyone is wearing masks; but you just don’t know who’s singing,” he said.
Sylvester suggests the look is “very Eurovision” and the mystery of their identities works in their favour because “everyone is asking who they are”.
“The dance is catchy, it’s a good execution,” she said.
The style team both cite San Marino’s disco cowboy Achille Lauro as one of their standout pop looks of the 2022 line-up. Lauro’s see-through body suit and on-trend opera gloves – Blake Lively rocked the long arm sleeves at the recent Met Gala – scream rock star.
“I love it! On the street, I would say no, but on him, I say yes!” Bokshish said.
There is a lot of black and white on the Pala Olimpico stage this year, so any burst of colour has dazzled under the state-of-the-art lighting at Turin.
One of the acts creating a cacophony of competing outfits is the Moldovan collective Zdob si Zdub &
Kathy McCabe
Advahov Brothers. But Bokshish isn’t a fan of the brothers’ suits
“The first thing I thought was curtains. I have grown up with Eurovision since I was zero and while I love how loud and crazy their performance is, I don’t think the outfits have clicked,” he said.
UK artist and TikTok star Sam Ryder and his pop bop Spaceman will rescue his country from their Eurovision doldrums – they have languished at the bottom for the grand final results for the past two years – but his sparkly embroidered suit set against a crystal cage doesn’t get the douze points (when a country gives 12 marks to another) from Bokshish.
“The outfit might work if the hair was different,” he said. “He needs dark hair for that suit. He looks like Kurt Cobain dressed as Michael Jackson.”
The majority of the female artists competing this year have played it relatively safe with their costume choices. Montenegro’s Vladana is one of only a handful of artists employing some prop action at the 2022 event, wearing a giant disco disc of lights strapped to the back of her cut-out gown.
“No! It’s giving a disco ball meets bride mood,” Bokshish said.
Spain, another of the so-called “Big Five” countries alongside the UK, France, Germany and host country Italy who automatically qualify for the grand final every year, is also likely to restore their Eurovision dignity this year thanks to the sizzling performance of pop artist Chanel.
The Cuban-Spanish singer wowed the crowd on the opening ceremony’s turquoise red carpet in a dynamite red and black gown with an enormous fluffy cape but “almost” wears a layered black and silver-embroidered black leotard, bolero jacket and chaps number for her performance.
Sylvester is a fan of the chaps but adored the Oscars-style glamour of the turquoise carpet gown.
“She walked onto that carpet and everyone just went wow. She looked like the most incredibly glamorous lady beatle,” she said.
The most significant costumes of the 2022 contest belong to Ukraine act Kalush Orchestra, the short-odds favourites to win this year as the world rallies to support the country fighting for survival against the Russian invasion.
Each of the costumes features a traditional folk pattern or motif from their homeland, a subtle yet defiant protest against Russia’s attempts to eradicate their culture.
“There are efforts that have been made now to destroy and discredit Ukrainian culture, but we are here to show that Ukrainian music and Ukrainian culture exists,” rapper Oleh Psiuk said.
They remind me of some medieval sex party where everyone’s wearing masks, but you just don’t know who’s singing