Sam Ryder's Space Man Jumpsuit
On Display at BME
Harking back to some of the stage outfits of the likes of Ziggy Stardust, Freddie Mercury and Elton John, Sam Ryder’s black denim jumpsuit is encrusted with jewelled glass crystals, beads, pearls and embroidered symbolism. Luke Day was the stylist behind the monochrome jumpsuit which is heavy with symbols of the sun, moon, planets and stars. Inspiration was taken from heritage greats such as Bowie and Elvis as well as Sam’s love of astronomy and astrology. Without being gimmicky there is also a trace of the Union Jack in the design. Day enlisted the help of illustrator Joseph Larkowsky to get his and Ryder’s vision onto paper, while embroiderer Jenny King worked tirelessly to embellish the suit. And it shows. It shows how much Sam cared about representing the UK at the 66th Eurovision Song Contest. Sam Ryder won the hearts and minds of Eurovision and remains a favourite with fans being hailed as authentic with an incredible voice. Ryder has quickly become a national treasure.
Describing the outfit Sam Ryder commented, “This jumpsuit was worn at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin during our performance of Space Man. For me, it tells the story of a turning point in the competition for the UK and in my personal journey with music. The suit itself took over 210 hours of work and over 15,000 beads and gems to create (around the same number of hours I spent practising the high notes in the song!) The process of writing Space Man with dear friends, the journey we went on as a team and the positive reception and result we received all culminated in a moment shared in this suit, and I couldn’t be more grateful it’s going on public display for Liverpool and fans around the world to enjoy.”
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Sam’s stylist, Luke Day commented, “Once I'd heard the song, I knew I wanted to be involved. I met Sam at the end of March and I'd seen his Eurovision rehearsal performance and knew that if we got the outfit right, this could be a real moment. A lot of the concept inspiration came from Britain's musical heritage; Ziggy Stardust, Freddie Mercury, Elton John. We wanted it to have a galactic, ‘space man’ feel, without it being too literal but to reflect his love of astronomy and astrology. Another inspiration was the Union Jack flag coat that David Bowie wore in the Nineties, which was designed by Alexander McQueen. The large cross design on Sam's body is taken from that piece. I enlisted the help of illustrator Joseph Larkowsky to get his and Ryder's vision onto paper, while embroiderer Jenny King worked for over 200 hours to hand embellish the suit with more than 15,000 pearls, beads and gems with sun, moon and star motifs.”
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