Style icon: Bebi Dol

Bebi Dol* is a Serbian pop singer. She has the honor of being the first style icon featured on Eva Internazionale because

• she wore Alaïa on the cover of one of her singles (a rather fashion-forward and uncommon choice in 1980s Yugoslavia)
  
• parts of her "visual legacy" from that period express an incredible aesthetics completely devoid of time and place.

* Serbian phonetic spelling of "baby doll"


Cover of the single Rudi (1983). Dress by Azzedine Alaïa.
Bebi Dol became extremely popular in Yugoslavia in the early 80s with the song Mustafa. It was inspired by her love for the Orient, which eventually ended up leading her to Egypt. Despite her successful career, she moved to Cairo after the release of her debut album and stayed for 2 years.

Rumor has it that Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran once heard her singing at the Sheraton and proclaimed her the best singer of all time. After she had returned to Belgrade, she won the national Eurovision Song Contest in 1991 with Brazil. As Yugoslavia was on the verge of breaking up, she finished second to last in the finals in Rome.


Brazil — more than just a promotional video. The lyrics might be cheerful, but
the entire thing is actually a metaphor for Yugoslavia's disastrous political situation.

She's known for her infrequent releases (it took her 4 years to record a new album after the Eurovision fiasco) and now mainly works as a session musician. She's still very popular in Serbia and puts on a bigger concert every once in a while, but it's clear that she doesn't expect her career will ever be as huge as in the 80s again.

how good not to love in these days, as strange as the taste of the new spice
while European boulevards are on her mind & fog over gardens
but it's delicate and it's delicate

The video for How Good not to Love was my instant favorite. It's very 80s and zeitgeisty, but also very cosmopolitan, radiating a certain kind of emptiness (empty but full of everything at the same time) that always gets me. It was shot in Budva, Montenegro, one of the most beautiful places on Earth.


Photo on the back cover of the single How Good not to Love. The array of fancy items reminds me of the eternally misleading idea that
rummaging through drawers and handbags will somehow help you solve the mystery of their owners.



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