Billy Porter wore a revolving crystal fringed hat to the Grammys amid wide reports of pearl-clutching and snatched edges
Billy Porter wore a motorised fringed hat to the Grammys. (Getty)
Billy Porter fed the children at the Grammy Awards 2020, debuting a “disco glam” jumpsuit complete with a revolving crystal fringed hat.
Does Billy Porter ever get tired of of snatching wigs? By the look of his Grammys 2020 outfit, the answer is no ma’am.
The Pose actor took to the red carpet in a a custom-made jumpsuit and matching cropped jacket drenched in crystals, with glittering fringing from the knee down.
Never one to do things by halves, he completed the look with a matching hat fitted with a motorised fringed curtain, which slowly opened to reveal a shock of blue eye shadow and a single crystal tear.
“Get on my nerves and the curtain closes,” Porter wrote on Instagram.
Billy Porter and his dramatic look was, quite obviously, a hit on Twitter.
Me: I hate drama
Also me when there’s drama: pic.twitter.com/sCyKFgnzZK— Sam Stryker (@sbstryker) January 27, 2020
What the Starbucks drive thru cashier sees when I pull up hungover in last night’s makeup and clothes pic.twitter.com/D5NdbfRmEL
— Ryan Schocket (@RyanSchocket) January 27, 2020
Me when I’m mad at my boyfriend then he asks me “what do you want to eat?”
#billyporter #grammys #Grammys2020 #GRAMMYLive pic.twitter.com/gseKoxyQky— surgeofstyle.com (@surgeofstyle) January 27, 2020
Me: don’t give attention to climate deniers
Also me, when there’s a particularly deranged new contribution from a climate denier: pic.twitter.com/OFHMvoBc9H— Josh Butler (@JoshButler) January 27, 2020
Porter’s look was inspired in part by Billie Eillish, the biggest winner at the 2020 Grammys.
His stylist Sam Ratelle told Vanity Fair that the two Billies “had a beautiful moment on the red carpet at the [American Music Awards] where they both gushed over each other’s hats”.
“Billie was wearing a Victorian inspired beekeeper bonnet with netting covering her face,” he continued.
“After the event, Billy jokingly told me he loved her look but after 30 years of working his way to Hollywood ‘Y’all are gonna see my face!’”
Porter’s entire outfit was created by Baja East designer Scott Studenberg, who debuted a static version of the hat at his pre-fall 2020 show.
Studenberg told Vanity Fair that it is “so fun to design for Billy because I’m able to push fashion as far as I can dream and he is here for all of it.
“I mean, it’s like Elton John and Selena had a baby, riding a Clydesdale playing peekaboo. But Billy acts like he’s just taking a casual stroll through Whole Foods.”
The idea of fitting the hat with motors came during a conversation between Studenberg and Ratelle (reportedly backed by Diana Ross and Sister Sledge remixes), and was realised with the help of milliner Sarah Sokol and engineers Smooth Technology.
