The Tamesis
Olivia Dean opens with a different look every night on her Art of Loving Tour. This is non-negotiable. She is a fashion girl! Also not up for discussion is the fact that when she takes the “B” stage, she will be wearing the same custom Chanel dress – a pedestal in the middle of the crowd so her fans can feel all the emotions emanating from a woman so good at dancing in heels that put our grandma Valla heels to shame. Some looks are too good to be considered one-off wonders, and such looks are usually created by Chanel.
Personally flattering in a white washed silk embroidered feather dress, it’s surprising any other look even made it onto the stage. It’s so sophisticated. Dean’s longtime stylist Simone Beyene worked with the studio to create a stadium-ready version of the artistic director’s now-iconic “piña colada” skirt, based on looks 21 and 22 from Matthieu Blazy’s first Métiers d’art collection. “I love that Olivia is a flower, and to me, this dress looks like a big flower with beautiful petals floating around her waist, and the sequins remind me of water droplets sparkling in the light,” Beyene shared. “We decided to make it white to match the stage design, and I wanted it to be stripped down and feel a little ethereal.”
Which brings us to the top. There’s been a lot of back-and-forth about the silk jersey basic, which to God looks like a classic white tank top, but according to Blazy, is an engineering feat in its own right. Translation: The softest tank known to man. “This is the emotional part of the show, so we chose a very simple top to represent Olivia’s everyday look,” Beyene continued. “We wanted it to be glamorous, I wanted drama, but it still had to feel effortlessly ‘simple.’ And you can never go wrong with a white tank top.”
