Sam Smith’s latex look celebrates ‘natural form’: designer

Sam Smith turned heads with their wacky black latex look at the 2023 Brit Awards on Saturday.

The “Writing’s on the Wall” singer, 30, donned an inflatable suit by Harri and chunky black boots for the British awards show, which instantly became a meme online.

Now, Harikrishnan Keezhathil Surendran Pillai, founder of the label Harri and designer of Smith’s iconic outfit, is opening up about the significance of the outfit.

Pillai revealed to WWD that Smith, who uses they/them pronouns, opted to wear the wild design after dealing with abuse about their body image.

“Sam was having a lot of hate comments recently after ‘Unholy’ about their body image,” Pillai said. 

The fashion designer also noted how the ensemble was meant to celebrate Smith’s “natural form and the beauty of being one’s self.”

“I wanted to create an image which people have never seen Sam in,” Pillai added.

Once the Oscar winner stepped onto the red carpet at the Brits, their look began to trend on social media where viewers poked fun at the outfit.

“Someone is desperate for attention…wow 😂😂😂🤣😂 #samsmith,” tweeted one person, while another troll added, “The humiliation continues for Sam Smith – WTF is THAT?”

At the ceremony, they performed a raunchy duet of their song “Unholy” with singer Kim Petras. Smith changed into a different look for the show, which consisted of leather pants and a harness paired with a top hat.

However, there were reportedly several issues backstage that impacted the stage performance.

“Sam’s performance might have appeared seamless but behind-the-scenes it was a nightmare,” a source told the Sun.

The Brits producers were in a jam at the O2 arena in London when the “whole set was built and ready to go but then a ­malfunction meant it had to be pulled off.”

Rapper Stormzy also sang at the awards ceremony, however his set “was moved forward” and Smith was worried their appearance might be canned.

“Sam was told there was a possibility their performance might be pulled altogether [and] Sam was understandably furious, and it was pretty tense backstage,” the insider said.

Petras and Smith also sang their hit at the Grammys on Feb. 5, but their appearance caused an uproar among some viewers, who launched a series of complaints against CBS and the Federal Communications Commission.

TMZ reported that 18 complaints were filed with the FCC and many of them criticized the performance for its “glorification” of Satan.