Fashion faux pas at the Eurovision Song Contest

The Ukrainian comedian and performer dressed in drag, and a futuristic sequined ensemble with a star atop her silver spangled swim cap, during the 2007 contest in Helsinki. Singing the upbeat "Dancing Lasha Tumbai" with her band who wore complementary outfits, she won second place but upset Russian fans — and officials — for apparently singing the lyric "Russia Goodbye."

By today's standards, the stage dress of the British singer Sandie Shaw is rather cute. But in 1967 two things caused minor public outraged. First, the singer wore a mink dress. Second, Shaw performed her song "Puppet On A String" barefoot. Nevertheless, she won. Many have since performed barefoot at the ESC, including the German candidate Levina in 2017. But it didn't help — she was next to last.

What look to us today like a collection of damaged Mardi Gras costumes was considered state-of-the-art style in the 1970s. Swedish pop band Abba scored points with these daring combinations of velvet, polyester and platform boots. Their song "Waterloo" won the contest in 1974 — and thus began one of the most successful careers in pop music history.

The 80s were the decade of big hair, shoulder pads and bright colors. Not so with Nicole. In 1982, in the British spa town of Harrogate, the German contestant seated herself with her guitar in a brave black dress with a white lace collar and chanted "A little peace" before winning the contest — and reaching number one on the British pop charts.

In 1998, Guildo Horn, a long-time Schlager music satirist, performed for Germany in a garish turquoise velvet suit. The sweaty, long-haired contestant sang "Guildo hat euch lieb!" (Guildo loves you!) before tearing off his jacket and scaling a pole on the side of the stage. Horn placed seventh.

The transgender singer from Israel upstaged Guildo Horn's velvet suit in 1998 with a bolero featuring colorful plumage. With her song "Diva" she made a stand for tolerance and gender fluidity and won the competition. Her black dress with feather sleeves was designed by French fashion icon Jean Paul Gaultier and will be long-remembered by the Eurovision faithful.

Many Eurovison fans might have been initially shocked by the appearance of the masked Finnish monster band in 2006. But the fainthearted audience ultimately embraced Lordi's outre horror garb, cheering the ghoulish band on as they easily won the 2006 song contest in Athens with the song "Hard Rock Hallelujah."

Oslo 2010: At first, the three ladies and two gentlemen from Belarus stood on stage in the standard way and sang their sugary ditty "Butterflies." But suddenly butterfly wings shot out of the backs of the singers; the act of kitsch was punished with second-last place. German contestant Lena won that year — maybe because she wore a rather simple dress.

In 2013 in Malmö, Sweden, the Moldavian contestant stood tall in high-tech fashion as she was hoisted onto a pedestal while donning a dress onto which LED lights projected fiery visual montages. Singing her flaming heart out on the epic ballad, "A Million," Aliona Moon's only problem was that she wasn't allowed to move for fear of revealing herself.

In 2014, Austrian singer and drag queen Conchita Wurst stunned the song contest in Copenhagen in a dazzling gold-laced dress set off with the performer's signature beard. The cross-dressing singer triggered some conservatives across Europe after winning Eurovision with the uplifting power ballad "Rise Like A Phoenix." Soon after, the diva featured on the runway at Paris fashion week.