Björk

How Bjork's swan dress redefined Oscars red carpet style

• For those of a certain age, it’s an outfit etched onto our collective consciousness. Close your eyes and you can conjure up the image: that shower puff of white tulle; the nude, crystal-studded bodystocking; the stuffed bird, like a renegade souvenir from the Alton Towers gift shop. More committed fans might even be able to picture its wearer ‘laying’ six prop eggs on the red carpet. When people said the Oscars were worth shelling out for, it probably wasn’t what they had in mind. Still, it became the stuff of pop culture legend. A 2008 poll by Debenhams found that it was the ninth most iconic red-carpet dress of all time. But as Björk’s infamous flight of fancy turns 20 this week, it’s time to pay our respects – and ask, what’s the real story behind the swan dress? Having risen to fame in the Eighties and Nineties, first as part of rock group The Sugarcubes and then with her acclaimed solo albums, the 2001 Academy Awards marked a pivotal moment for Björk both professionally and sartorially. The elfin star was nominated for Best Original Song for ‘I've Seen It All’, from the soundtrack to Lars Von Trier’s phenomenally depressing film Dancer In The Dark, in which she also starred. Gone were her trademark mini buns and hiking boots, and in their place a fledgling style icon. The swan, meanwhile, began life in the hands of little-known Macedonian designer Marjan Pejoski, co-owner of London fashion and homewares boutique Kokon To Zai. Björk had worn one of his designs, a sculptural pink puffball, to the Cannes Festival the previous year. But by choosing the swan dress for the famously fusty Academy Awards, the singer was really sticking her neck out. Oscar 2021 nominations list