New York City’s Panorama Music Festival got off to a bit of a rough start—the second half of performances on the first day were cancelled due to thunderstorms, and eager festivalgoers had to evacuate Randall’s Island in the pouring rain. The inclement weather didn’t seem to dampen the spirits for the rest of the weekend, thankfully, and artists appropriately came out in their festival-style best: Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast managed to keep things sparkly in a semi-sheer, sequined ensemble for her performance on Saturday, and David Byrne kept things classic in a sharp gray suit on Sunday.
SZA’s Panorama outfit was equally noteworthy: The Ctrl singer-songwriter donned a deceptively demure deep gray dress with light pink floral accents to her set on Saturday. From the front, the prairie-style frock appeared quite prim with its flowing long sleeves and high neck cut, but based on the Instagram video that showed her walking out onto the stage, this seemingly sweet piece also had quite the revealing back cut-out. In true tomboy fashion, SZA paired the summery dress with a chunky pair of Balenciaga sneakers—even when she’s trying out a girlish look, she still manages to bring an androgynous edge to the ensemble.
Whether consciously or not, SZA’s Panorama outfit makes the case that perhaps the best antidote to the ugly-sneaker trend is a proper prairie dress—or, since opposites attract, vice versa. So next time you don a Batsheva gown, consider offsetting the old-school silhouette with a pair of platform Buffalos—SZA would approve.