Snow White's blue, yellow, and red wardrobe has weathered nearly 90 years of fashion, but Rita Ora seems to have decided the princess was overdue for a night out beyond the castle. The 35-year-old singer transformed the fairytale heroine into an unexpected mix of balletcore and lingerie dressing for her performance at the second annual amfAR London gala.
Ora kept Snow White's unmistakable colour palette, but swapped the familiar full-length dress and puff sleeves for a royal blue satin bra trimmed with black lace and a bright yellow tulle tutu. A slim red belt completed the Disney colour code around her waist. If Snow White ever traded cottagecore for high fashion energy around the Halloween season, this might be what happens to her legendary dress.
Snow White Got a Very Rita Ora Makeover
If the iconic colour palette wasn't already a giveaway about the inspiration, Rita Ora's Instagram caption certainly confirmed it. Sharing photos from the performance, she described the outfit as 'my version of Snow White but make it fashion'.
The singer wore sheer black tights and towering black platform heels with the sunny tutu, while her blonde hair was styled into a short, flicked bob. However, the accessory hovering several inches above her head was also effortlessly vying for your attention.
A sculptural black Philip Treacy headpiece twisted upwards into oversized loops, almost resembling a ribbon drawn into the air with one very confident stroke of a pen. Author Tetyana Denford apparently saw the same thing, commenting, 'I love that your hat looks like somebody drew it with a calligraphy pen'.
Another called the transformation 'bad*ss Snow White', while others simply declared Ora 'gorgeous' and 'stunning'. The whimsical headpiece also had a fitting connection to the night, as Treacy was honoured with amfAR's Award of Excellence at the gala.
Beyond the fashion fanfare, the amfAR gala ultimately raised $2.2 million for amfAR's work supporting HIV research and global health.
Ora Took Her Princess Look to the Stage
The outfit was not assembled for a photo call. Ora performed in the full Snow White-inspired look at The Chancery Rosewood in London, where she headlined the evening's entertainment after singer-songwriter Jamie Miller opened the event. Photos from the performance show the enormous tutu bouncing around Ora as she sang, turning a silhouette associated with ballet into something made for a pop stage.
The dreamy skirt also provided an appropriately dramatic counterweight to Treacy's towering creation above her head, adding another fairytale-like element to the ensemble. Ora later threw a black coat over the outfit and added oversized sunglasses, giving Snow White another wardrobe update nobody at the dwarfs' cottage could have predicted.
Ora's version may have borrowed one of Disney's most recognisable colour combinations, but there was no princess gown, cape, or poisoned apple required to help make a positive difference in the world. Nearly 90 years after Snow White first arrived on screen, Ora carried on the notion that there is more than one way to be the fairest of them all.
