The 23-year-old pop star wore a baby doll dress to her Billions Club performance in Barcelona, Spain.
Olivia Rodrigo falls through stage trapdoor
The singer was running back and forth in front of the crowd in Melbourne, Australia, when he fell onto the stage.
Olivia Rodrigo is thrilling fans with her latest musical era, but her fashion choices may leave a sour impression.
The Grammy-winning singer, who is gearing up to release her third album, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, became an online sensation after her performance at Spotify’s Billions Club Show in Barcelona, Spain, last weekend. The “Billions Club” series recognizes artists who have accumulated over 1 billion streams on streaming platforms.
During her May 8 performance, the 23-year-old pop star wore a white babydoll dress. Featuring a short-sleeved floral frock and an above-thigh skirt, she accessorized the look with knee-length black leather Dr. Martens boots.
The retro-inspired dress was the same outfit Rodrigo wore in her “Drop Dead” music video.
The dainty look of the outfit sparked a backlash on social media, with some comparing Rodrigo’s dress to children’s clothing.
“Can Olivia Rodrigo just dress like a regular pop star and stop dressing like a toddler?” @arepababyy wrote about X, “If you can’t see, you’re blind.”
A babydoll dress is a short, loose-fitting nightgown-style frock often worn by adult women. The skirt of a dress usually falls around the top of the thigh. This garment includes accents such as lace, ruffles, appliqués, marabouts, bows, and bows, and is associated with a distinctive feminine look. Baby dolls are sometimes made of sheer or translucent fabrics such as nylon, chiffon, and silk.
The origins of the dress are often attributed to lingerie designer Sylvia Pedler, who developed the mini dress in 1942 in response to fabric shortages during World War II. Baby dolls were popularized in the late 50’s by Carroll Baker’s movie “Baby Doll” and Spanish designer Cristóbal Balenciaga.
The style made a comeback in the ’90s thanks to grunge and alternative rock artists like Courtney Love and Kat Bigeland.
Fans debate Olivia Rodrigo’s babydoll dress
Rodrigo’s babydoll dress divided fans on social media, with some commenters seeing the ensemble in a racy light.
@missiongirl4 wrote on X, “Rodrigo isn’t wearing a 60’s babydoll dress. It’s a mini dress with an empire bodice in grown-up fabrics, colors and designs. She’s wearing a pink dress that looks like a toddler would wear, with frilly underwear underneath.”
@Lois McClatch posted a photo of Rodrigo and fellow pop star Sabrina Carpenter, commenting: “We have to talk about this weird trend of highly sexualized pop stars dressing up as little girls.”
“Olivia Rodrigo was wearing a toddler sleep shirt and diaper cover,” @xoalajaisnzloa wrote.
Some fans defended Rodrigo and pushed back against characterizing the baby doll as an item of children’s clothing.
“Olivia Rodrigo makes a lot of references to the past in times like these and Baby Doll is one of them,” wrote @liviefiles. “While its name may be confusing, its history, design and purpose are clearly related to women’s lingerie and have nothing to do with children’s clothing.”
“The more I see and hear about Olivia Rodrigo, the more I can’t understand anyone who would be offended by her fashion or performance choices,” @wickedspecialst commented. “Her main audience is teenagers, but she herself isn’t that anymore. Her music, like the artist herself, has always been able to be a little spicy.”
“It’s literally just a babydoll dress.[And]they conveniently cropped the photo so you couldn’t see that Olivia Rodrigo was wearing knee-high leather boots,” wrote @lliveandalive. “Everyone’s doing weird things. Courtney Love wore something similar 10 years ago. Her makeup just came off. It’s not about pop stars, it’s about predators.”
