The Eurovision Song Contest of 2018 is already one week behind us, but this year’s fashion disasters have once again burned themselves onto the back of our collective retina. And that unfortunate but joyous tradition leads us to the Barbara Dex Award, which honours Eurovision’s Worst Dressed artists.
The award pays homage to Belgium’s 1993 contestant, who famously made the mistake of sewing her own costume. She ended up looking like a lampshade. This year — and for the second time — the iconic award is handed out by our friends at the Belgian website Songfestival.be, who took over from the Dutch founders Rob and Edwin at the House of Eurovision following the 2016 edition.
Barbara Dex Award Winner 2018: Eye cue
Eye Cue, the Macedonian duo who finished next-to-last in the first semi-final, were a fashion enigma in two parts. Marija started her performance in a thigh-skimming pink outfit with an open back. It was so loose and ill-fitting that most press assumed she would have it tailored following her first rehearsal. She did not.
Halfway through the performance she removed the covering to reveal a grey shorts and top co-ord which featured pink embellishments and a very strange motif on her chest. It appeared as if she had two large eyes sewn on to her cleavage.
This is the second time that F.Y.R. Macedonia has earned the “honour”, after taking the top prize in 2005 with Martin Vucic. Although the precise voting figures have not been revealed, the top ranking has.
Barbara Dex Award Winner 2018: The Top 5
- FYR Macedonia – Eye Cue
- Australia – Jessica Mauboy
- Belgium – Sennek
- Montenegro – Vanja Radovanovic
- Israel – Netta
Giving Eye Cue a run for their money this year were Australia’s Jessica Mauboy, whose shimmering dress was meant to represent electricity and included an errant mermaid fin; Belgium’s Sennek, who channeled Gothic princess in an all-black number with illusion cutouts; Montenegro’s Vanja, who looked like an extra from an animated film with his frosty blue suit; and Israel’s Netta, who borrowed heavily from Japanese culture with her kimono-inspired top. She threw in some Princess Leia hair buns for good measure.
Was Macedonia your Barbara Dex Award winner? What do you think of the Top 5? Let us know in the comments down below.
Photo: Thomas Hanses (EBU)
yeah that silvery top did nothing for her boobs. Why were they so low down? :S
I thought Netta was adorable. I thought Greece’s dress was fine as a general rule but completely unsuitable for the song. It actually killed the mood.
I thought Bojan’s shirt was excellent.
I thought Australia would win lol.
And I don´t understand Montenegro in this list. I liked Vanja´s outfit.
I kinda agree with the list. Eye Cue had a decent song but went down hill with that awful staging and even worse costume. Thank god eurovision is not in 3D. and as a gay man, can i state that her breasts were amazing! Jessica Mauboy had some lovely colours in her costume, but the design was so unflattering. Belgium – Sennek – Again another brill song ruined by poor staging and unflattering costume. Montenegro – Vanja Radovanovic – No words can state how awful this suit was. Israel – Netta – A big girl in bright fun colours, reflected… Read more »
I’m kind of surprised Sennek didn’t win this award. I mean, come on! Her outfit and mascara were just the worst! XD
Remember when William and Deban predicted that Macedonia is a ”sure qualifier”
They gravely miscalculated. I knew that Eye-Cue would not qualify at all. Jana had a MUCH better song last year (the lyrics actually made sense), and she couldn’t qualify. Both had lousy stage designs and setups, and if Jana wanted to do more on stage, she couldn’t because she was pregnant.
Have you ever thought about it?
They went too far. Now there’s no way back.
No way back.
Have you ever thought about it?
They went too far. Now there’s no way back.
No way…
Well at least FRYO Macedonia does not leave the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 empty handed. An award is a good trophy to have and to hold. France, Cyprus and Bulgaria won the Besançon Award in their respective categories and Israel won the trophy at the Eurovision Song Contest 2018. Well done FYR of Macedonia, France, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Israel for winning this year at the ESC2018! Comiseration to the 38 European countries which did not win any awards apart from a legion of fans.
It’s not exactly flattering to win such an award
Finally a vote I can whole-heartedly agree with. Like, I was so rooting for Macedonia when I heard the studio version. But as usual (I’m tempted to write always, in this case), everything goes south after that. Their performance managed to turn me from a supporter to a … dare I say hater? Actually, yes, it was just all SO BAD, including that awful dress of hers and that meaningless dress change, which only made matters worse. Who comes up with the Macedonian staging and clothing and thinks this is a good idea? Is this the same stupid person every… Read more »
I’m surprised The Netherlands are not in top 5 at least. That outfit was just of very poor taste.
Macedonia wasn’t that bad. A little bit confusing and too short. Other than that it was ok.
I have seen worse winners of the Barbara Dex Award.
There were no frankly horrible stylings this year, there were only more or less memorable ones.. Jessica’s dress really didin’t do her favour but it suited coloristically, so OK.. Pity for Laura Rizotto, her red dress paired with hot pants in the same colour just looked very uninspiring, something an average teenage girl would imagine wearing at prom night. With a more serious editing, Laura could have scored higher. I did get some eighties throwback vibes, too : Isaura of Portugal, for example, came accross as a hipsterish response to Dora, Portugal’s representative from 1986 and 1988, while the ladies… Read more »
I forgot to add my final thought on this subject: the act that best matched the original Barbara Dex’ blandness both in terms of styling and song, would definitely be Austria’s Cesar Sampspn: everythig about his perfromance just screamed beige! The execution was very professional though, but all in all, a very, very overrated act imo.
FYROM wasn’t that bad, a bit weird, yes. I thought Montenegro and Australia were the worst. That Montenegro suit with blue rhine stones or whatever that was, looked so awful, and Australia as well. As for Belgium, I really liked it, I though it was quite beautiful.
At least Macedonia is good at 2 things: Winning this award and have the worst stagings of all the countries every year. Its kind of impressing but not in a good way.
In the last years Greece and Poland have awful stagings too, of course not to the extent of Macedonia
Correct decision here…Macedonia’s outfit was by far the worst in the competition. It lacked taste and was ugly.
Kinda surprised that Ari wasn’t in the top 5, his suit was terrible
Really? I disagree. I absolutely loved it!
I love Marija, but yes, there were two bad outfits in a single performance, so she had to win the Barbara Dex this year. But I must say Jessica’s dress was also terrible. Sennek’s outfit looked better than expected on TV, even if I still don’t like it. Netta had better costumes on the video, but I don’t see a big problem in the one they picked. On the other hand, I think Vanja’s weird suit actually worked pretty well. It’s definitely not something people should wear outside Eurovision, but it sort of had a purpose.
I liked “Lost and Found,” but it was flawed musically at the start. The drums should have come in after the shift to the reggae section instead of before.
What a awful award! 🙁 I will always feel very bad for the person who gets it.
It does feel very mean-spirited 🙁
Why?
In a contest where at least half the contestant’s outfits are pretty tacky, you have any idea how hard it is to absolutely excel at it?
I personally think the Barbara Dex Award is funny. 🙂
I can’t believe that Croatia didn’t at least reach Top 5. Franka looked almost naked in her see through dress. Montenegro though..really?
Croatia wasn’t that bad, especially compared to their fashion disasters of the last two years. Vanja’s suit was horrible though, he should have worn something more tasteful like in the music video.
Unfair…
I think Macedonia was completely destroyed this year…
Great song, the costume were not good, specially the 2nd one hehehehe but i guess there was entries with even worst costumes…
They destroyed their own performance to. I want Macedonia to do good but this year i cant feel sad for them. If i were their HOD i would do the opposite of what they did this year with everything. She must have horrible taste when it comes to decision making.
Netta’s costume was cultural appropriation.
Israel is an Asian country.
Israel is an European colonial outpost in the middle east
I see Israel as both asian and European:) They compete in our Football zone to 🙂
That doesn’t make sense, even if Israel is an Asian country. Do you know how big Asia is? Israel is closer to Europe than East Asia, you know, the culture she used.
This is one award Jessica Mauboy of Australia deserved to win.
“A sweet, fun love song”, Really? You make it sound so naive. Have you read the lyrics? It’s a sensual song. and just like the 3 musical styles in it, it also goes through 3 stages… It start as an invitation for sexual intercourse: “Come and take me, I can show you how it’s done”. Then the act itself: “Just let me go deeper, go deeper” and then the after thought: “We went too far, now there’s no way back”. I think the song is really good, as it plays hide and seek with it’s subject (sex) which gets ‘lost… Read more »
Was hoping for your thoughts… More to the point… although the garment was indeed ill-fitting and quite distasteful, it’s not at all out of place and goes very well with the meaning of the song – as the “naked lady” goes very well with the bed backdrop in the clip… don’t you think?
Is there a similar award for the male contestants?
Montenegro was a male contestant
Nope Barbara Dex covers everyone at Eurovision. Male winners in the past includes Romania’s Cezar in 2012 and Montenegro’s Slavko last year.
Cezar competed in 2013…
After picking a terrible winner last year, its nice to know the Dex is back on track. Well deserved.
And deservedly so. I almost fell out of my chair laughing after her dress reveal. I was convinced nothing could be worse than that unflattering eyesore of a pink tunic, but boy did the silver gym shorts prove me wrong.
That top (bottom?) 5 is spot on. Vanja and Jessica were both just embarassing to watch. I thought Netta looked great though, that kimono really slimmed her.
It almost seem like Macedonia is afraid to qualify beacuse they are so afraid to win and host it so they do their absolute worst not even come close to it. They did a pretty good job this year.
2016 Croatia won it
2017 Monteagro won it
2018 Macedonia won it
2019 (enter Ex Yugoslav country) won it
Deserved winner, not only one truly awful outfit but TWO. Now that’s a talent. But I’d also add Cesár to the list for his uncomfortably ill-fitting troussers and Alekseev for…that
I also thought cesar looked really weird in that outfit.
not surprised. Marija is such a beautiful girl and to dress her with such poor fitting clothes is simply a crime. the overcoat worn backwards idea was not so bad but the fabric looked too loose at the chest and too tight at the shoulders, and the outfit under it made her look like a grandma in her 70s with a saggy chest, not to mention made her look like she has bad posture even though she’s only 20. She was also too focused on her movements on the stage that she forgot that she also needed to sing and… Read more »
so sad…They were my favourites and i really like “lost and found”….
Almost everything went wrong
Marija is 30 tho
I guess she is only 21
Check your facts. She was born in 1988.
im sorry she born in september 1997….you´re wrong
A well-deserved win.
This year why no eurovisions next top model awarded?
It’s Eleni Foureria, obviously.
Meh. I voted for Spain.
No tea no shade no pink lemonade,
those two outfits were both WRONG
Deserved. I think sennek was the worst dressed. But yea her armpitless dress was a mess too short too big just messy.
A well deserved accolade. The song was my favourite in the run up to the competition and I was fearful that they would mess up the staging or put her in something as ghastly as the pink thing she wore in the video. The rest is history. Still love the song though x
Mladen from Serbia ( Balkanika) accused some delegations of “serious countries” that they traded jury points all the time in Hotels.He was witness when someone approached Australian delegation to trade jury points.it started on 02:58 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG4s_1q4n0E Mladen-” When I saw how looks trading of points between delegations some “serious countries” on ESC.There is some men who walk away between one and other countries in hotels,and they were trading jury points.Journalist- “What did they sell?They traded jury points?” He responded:”Yes, with jury points.” Mladen continues-“They said to each other “We will give you …points, you will give us… points.I was there,… Read more »
They are not even hiding the bias anymore. You can look at the results…several countries have precisely calculated numbers, and that includes “serious countries” such as Germany and Italy.
this is why juries should be removed or at least reduced to 30% of the points or less
Balkanika claim to have seen a lot iver the Eurovision week. First the beating of the stage invader and now this. Hmmmm
so what if they are not in the host country? we don’t live in 18th century, we have phones and one phone call and a fine sum of money is enough to do the job…and who knows maybe even broadcasters are involved cause if their country is not in the final, the viewership of the final will decrease drastically
idk, i think that Australian delegation realised how big of a trainwreck their act is and then they made this desperate move to fix it…thats only explanation i could think of
Wiwibloggs deleted my previous comment. You had similar thing in 2011 where Azerbaijan bribed juries and won ( I posted what Turkish singer in that year said about it) and in 2013 when Azerbaijan tried to bribe lot of juries of different countries to win.Google it yourself.These are not rumours, it happens on every ESC
Vem bryr sig? #fakenews
Though Azerbaijan won televoting in ESC 2011 not the jury voting. I think that these all are just rumors. Some countries get unexpected results in the contest and ppl start to blame them on cheating. lol
This serbian guy is just a bad looser that knew they would not score much outside the balcans because its not a very modern song. Now he has his 15 minutes of extra fame. im happy for him. Austria and Sweden deserved jury points if you compare to Australia och Serbia. 2 modern songs with great stagings and singers. And im not bias.
Ehm… Croatia, where?
we are not in 2016, this is 2018 remember?
Franka was HOT AF. I was seriously questioning my gayness hahah
I’m still a bit butthurt for Nina being the joke of 2016 – she had a beautiful song, and the dress was kinda like waves hitting the lighthouse, whereas there were so many bland H&M costumes (Spain, Hungary, Sweden…)
I always thought that Netta’s hairstyle is more like Pucca’s, not Princess Leia’s, because that would make much more sense.
I actually LOVED Sennek´s dress, I thought it was elegant, ambigous and gothic at the same time, just like her.
… said no one ever
Then you’ll be pleased to know Sennek’s dress is the first Eurovision outfit ever to have been added to the collection of Antwerp’s prestigious MoMu fashion museum.
Max, u’re hot. Lol.
U got a romeo profile?
Sorry but Waylon is truly robbed. Nothing beats wearing a dead animal on your back.
lol Its fashion. Macedonia is garbage. It is a deserved winner.
Waylon is my winner!
I’m still confused about why people were criticizing Eye Cue’s performance.
FYR Macedonia was one of my favourite songs of the year, it just radiated energy and was an all round bop. Unfortunately it didn’t translate on stage and it showed 🙁 Wasn’t a bad performance but was disappointing
She sounded awful, the dancing was cringe and the staging and camera angles were all over the place. That’s why.
They had a good song. The staging was way too much also her vocals were bad.
Her vocals weren’t that bad. 🙂 She just needs more practice. 😉
I voted for Sennek, but I guess the result is fair.
Honorable mentios are Iceland, Belarus and Benjamin’s jacket.
how are belarus and iceland not well-dressed? if anything they’re some of the best dressed…
That’s just my personal taste. I didn’t like Ari’s suit, and for Alekseev…it wasn’t that bad, just the roses on his back.
I was hoping Marija would have worn something similar to that dress in the music video when she‘s on the swing set. I also think open hair makes her look better at some point.
I’m surprised Austria didn’t make the top 5, given what Cesár Sampson was wearing was just absolutely awful.
There is a difference between an outrageous outfit and one that is just plain boring.
Cesár‘s shirt looked better without the sleeves which he finally took off in the final. I think the red shirt like in the stage projection which is the same I guess would have even looked better on him.
I think that’s undeserved, it didn’t look bad at all.
As if the huge chance of them withdrawing isn’t enough, they also get a prize for worst dressed. I don’t think we will see the country next year.
It wouldn’t be a massive loss would it! When was the last time they qualified?
But their studio entries they serve are one of the best
It would be a massive loss to us who love bops!
I have an idea. Let’s get a new hashtag going, immediately: #FYRMacedoniaForEurovisionSongContest2019