Sam Smith goes viral in costume at the Brit Awards

LONDON (AP) — Sam Smith turned heads in a black latex bodysuit she wore to the Brit Awards in London on Saturday night.

The full costume, designed by Harri, had puffy sleeves and trousers that quickly made it the most talked about outfit of the night, surpassing Harry Styles’ black velvet dress with a giant organza flower at its neck.

Smith’s style, which included a black platform and heeled boots, was praised but also inspired social media jokes about UFOs and comedian Billy Connolly’s “incontinence pants”. Others wondered if it was an homage to one of David Bowie’s most memorable looks, the shiny black with white stripes and flared legs of Kansai Yamamoto that Bowie wore in 1973.

Smith’s pattern designer Harri told WWD it was a style to celebrate the natural shape and “the beauty of being yourself.”

“Sam was getting a lot of hate comments about his body image recently after ‘Unholy,'” Harri said. “I wanted to create an image that people would never have seen him in.”

Last week, Smith, who goes by the non-binary pronoun “them”, praised stylist Ben Reardon on Instagram last week, writing that he’s behind much of what she’s worn in recent years in videos and red carpets.

“Ben, your talent and vision are unparalleled in my lifetime,” Smith wrote. “You have taught me so much and reintroduced me to art and creativity in ways I never thought possible. Thank you for helping me be brave and have fun at the same time. I love you and I’m honored to work with you every day.”