Israeli Eurovision representative Eden Golan debuted her outfit for the contest during her first rehearsal in Sweden for her song Hurricane on Tuesday, alongside her dance team's outfits.
Designed by Alon Livne in collaboration with stylist Itay Bezaleli, who regularly outfits Israeli Eurovision contestants, the duo has previously designed for Eden Alene and Noa Kirel.
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Eden Golan performs a rehearsal on the Eurovision stage
(Photo: Sarah Louise Bennett, EBU)
On the stage in Malmö, Sweden, where the song competition will be held next week, Golan wore a soft, stone-colored maxi dress. The upper part, crafted from straps wrapped around her body, created a visual effect resembling cuts with bandages. This likely symbolizes the bleeding wounds and ongoing trauma of Israeli society following October 7, suggesting a societal heart still in need of healing.
The dancers' clothes corresponded with the dress's design language, featuring similar colors and loose cuts reminiscent of late 19th-century pioneer clothing.
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Eden Golan and her dancers rehearse Hurricane
(Photo: Corinne Cumming, Courtesy of the EBU)
"The garment we designed for Eden is subject to interpretation," Bezaleli told Ynet in an interview after the rehearsal in Malmö. "We wanted to create a natural garment with a very clean look that would express what we currently feel as a nation. That's why we chose to create the dress from natural materials, and the overall look is very different from previous joint work by me and Alon. This time there was no room for a shiny or plastic garment."
According to Bezaleli, one of the main challenges in working on the garment was not to take attention away from Israel's Eurovision representative. "We wanted the garment not to be the thing, but Eden," he emphasizes.
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Eden Golan's Eurovision dress resembles bandages
(Photo: Sarah Louise Bennett, courtesy of the EBU)
Another challenge was to match the clothes to the song being performed on stage. "The garment must be very comfortable, so the measurements in Alon's studio were carried out with a fan so that we could see the dress in motion. Alon cut the dress according to Eden's dance movements."
Were you required to submit the dress design to Eurovision officials for approval?
"No, we got approval for the costume from Israeli delegation officials only, and this is a process that happens with every contestant every year. They also talked about making the outfit yellow, but it isn't, as you see. This is because yellow doesn't match Eden's hair color, and also because they've already done it (Dorin Frankfurt at Eurovision 1983 with the late Ofra Haza)."
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Dress measurements were taken in front of a fan so designers could see the dress in motion
(Photo: Corinne Cumming, courtesy of the EBU)
To what extent was Eden involved in the design process of the garment?
"Eden was a full partner from the sketch stage to the last measurement."
Livne told Ynet that he cannot be interviewed on the subject until Friday, but in a story he shared last week on his Instagram page, he wrote: "Unfortunately, we received an explicit instruction not to use any symbol or element related to October 7. We had to send a sketch and get approval, and sketches possessing symbols or references to the situation in Israel were outright disqualified." Livne added: "Trust me that I implicitly prepared elements that convey our feelings."