Fashion designer Harri has divulged extra details about Sam Smith’s viral black latex look that they wore on the red carpet at the Brit Awards.
The “Unholy” singer, 30, donned a sculptural latex outfit that featured inflated arms and legs when they walked down the red carpet at the awards ceremony on Saturday night (11 February).
In an appearance on Good Morning Britain on Monday (13 February), Harri said he had “four days” to make the outfit for Smith.
Asked how Smith got from the car to the red carpet, the Kerala-born designer said: “They walked in it [inflated] all the way to the red carpet… I think they did a fantastic job.”
Rynder wanted to know if the outfit was “difficult to get in and out of”, given the material. “Don’t you have to use talcum powder, or that sort of thing?” he asked.
Harri clarified that no talcum powder was needed to get Smith into the suit and added: “They put it on like a tailored suit, it’s made for them.”
Smith’s all-black custom-made outfit made a bold statement of the event, which was held at the O2 Arena, and quickly went viral on social media.
It came after the non-binary Gloria singer drew criticism for the music video for their hit song “I’m Not Here to Make Friends”, which some people said was “pornographic”, while others defended Smith’s artistic choices.
During his 2023 Grammys performance last weekend, Smith and Kim Petras performed a live rendition of the song. On stage, Smith wore a red hat with horns, prompting further criticism branding the performance as “Satanic”.
But in response, the Church of Satan dismissed the reaction and told TMZ that the performance was “all right” and “nothing particularly special”.
Harri, whose full name is Harikrishnan Keezhathil Surendran Pillai, explained why he chose to make the outfit for Smith in a statement and said: “Sam was having a lot of hate comments recently after ‘Unholy’ about their body image.
“This is my take on celebrating [their] natural form and the beauty of being one’s self. I wanted to create an image which people have never seen Sam in.”
Earlier this year, Smith opened up about their past body image issues and said they used to be afraid of judgement for their appearance.
They told The Sunday Times: “Every time I went to the pool I felt self-conscious, but I forced myself to take my top off. It paid off because I now have the opposite of body dysmorphia. I look fabulous.”
