Rosalía Gives Traditional Flamenco Style a Bold Twist at the MTV EMAs

Rosalía’s interest in flamenco isn’t a passing fancy; in her youth, the Catalonian artist spent over a decade training in the centuries-old practice with a local teacher. Her wardrobe, too, often pulls from the traditional garments associated with the art form. Just take the baby blue set she wore onstage at Madcool Festival in Madrid this past summer: offering a pop princess twist on the traditional traje de flamenca, or flamenco dress, Rosalía performed in a ruffle-lined crop top with seafoam green hot pants.

Last night, at the MTV European Music Awards in Seville, Spain—where the singer also won Best Collaboration with J Balvin and El Guincho for their song “Con Altura”—the singer-songwriter arrived at the red carpet in yet another reinterpretation of a classic flamenco sartorial motif. The polka dot is one of the most prominent designs featured on ruffled Andalusian flamenco dresses, but Rosalía gave the pattern a bold spin, wearing a black and white dotted Balmain suit, with an inversely printed crop top and matching flared pants underneath, to the ceremony. Only Rosalía could wear such a familiar pattern and still invoke centuries of Spanish history in one fell swoop.