The House of Valentino has made its own version of Icelandic musician Björk’s infamous 2001 swan dress. The new version, a creation of hand-sewn feathers and tulle, was on display at the 2014 haute couture show of the Paris Fashion Week.
It has since received rave reviews from the fashion house’s Twitter and Instagram followers.
The original dress, designed by Marjan Pejoski, received a much more negative response in 2001 when Iceland’s whacky songstress Björk shocked the world by donning it at the Academy Awards.
Later that year, US TV icon Ellen Degeneres turned up at the Emmys in a mock version, while actor Kevin James did something similar at the 2002 People’s Choice Awards when he appeared on stage.
The original swan dress worn by Björk had a full skirt with ruffles designed to resemble a swan’s body and featured a cartoonish swan head on the chest. Comedians and critics mocked the design for months after the Oscars’ ceremony, with one saying the swan was still alive during rehearsals.
However, Pejoski strongly defended the design, telling People magazine that there was nothing wrong with creating a swan’s dress and that he hated limits. He insisted that Björk didn’t care what critics said, and that if commenters were either charmed or disgusted by his work then he achieved something.