Bambie Thug: Meet the designer behind their look

When Bambie Thug takes to the Eurovision stage on Saturday night, for many, it will be their first look at Ireland’s “goth gremlin goblin witch”.

Their semi-final performance of Doomsday Blue has given rise to hopes that Ireland, who have not won since 1996, can finally break their Eurovision curse.

They are now among the bookmakers favourites to win in Malmo.

For Donegal fashion designer Mariusz Malon, the man behind their Eurovision look, the night will also bring his work to a global audience.

“This is bigger than anything I have done before,” he told BBC News NI.

Originally from Poland, Mariusz moved to Buncrana in the Republic of Ireland at the age of seven.

After leaving school he studied fashion at the North West Regional College in Londonderry before moving to Manchester.

His work is hugely popular with some of the UK’s drag queens, but dressing Bambie Thug brings his work to a new level.

“Bambie and I have been following each other for a while on Instagram, they approached me with an aesthetic that was quite witchy, quite old Irish paganism,” he said.

“I know they had liked some of my old designs, we sent ideas back and forth, settled on some things, changed some other about.

“What we have is a really amazing outfit, an outfit that starts conversations,” he said.

In the semi-final, Bambie Thug performed inside a candlelit pentagram.

Throughout their performance they remove a dress covered with black feathers to revealing a swimsuit adorned with the transgender flag – a reference to their non-binary identity.

Strict Eurovision rules mean nothing can change for Saturday’s final.

Mariusz has been in Malmo all week and spoke to BBC News NI in between rehearsals for the final.

Confidence, he said, is growing among the team that Bambie Thug can win

“It’s going to be insane, there are so many Irish fans in Malmo, it has been so encouraging,” he added.

“Bambie has been getting so much love.”.

Bambie Thug is a self-described queer, ‘ouija popstar’, who uses the non-binary personal pronouns they and them.

Their genre-defying Eurovision entry Doomsday Blue will be performed on Saturday evening’s final alongside 25 other countries.

On Tuesday evening, Bambie Thug became the first Irish entry to qualify for a Eurovision Grand Final in six years.

The Cork singer was among 10 acts to qualify from the first semi-final at the Malmo Arena.