Fashion, fabrics and fishtails – why we need to talk about what female classical performers wear

Last November, pianist and scholar Dr Samantha Ege gave a recital of works by Florence Price, Margaret Bonds, and Vítězslava Kaprálová at Milton Court Concert Hall. It’s music that’s rarely heard on UK stages, and critics welcomed “the emotional pull to these works” while Ege was praised for her “finely honed performances born of deep study and analysis.

What none mentioned, though, was Ege’s outfit. She was radiant in what she described to me as “a muted red fishtail dress, influenced by west African styles.” The bodice was nipped in at the waist with a customised appliqué belt that glimmered under the spotlights, emphasising hints of silver in the large ammonite-like swirls covering the fabric.

For Ege, as for many other soloists, her outfits are an important part of her performance. “It gives me even more of an opportunity to express myself”,, was specifically chosen for this Barbican programme. “Antiquity and modernity … converge in the design, which strongly speaks to the themes in my research and repertoire. I champion piano music from the Black Renaissance, an era that reflected themes of cultural rebirth while paying homage to the past, but with an Afrocentric twist. That very much sums up my relationship to concert attire!”