The artist Arvida Byström had planned to go to the Guldbaggegala in a revealing outfit – but once there she was asked to put on more clothes. “[N]when I went out on the red carpet, I was sent back,” says Byström The evening paper.
On January 23rd, this year’s Guldbaggegala took place at Cirkus in Stockholm. As usual, there were a lot of glamorous looks at the event, but one outfit was not welcome on the red carpet: Arvida Byström’s somewhat revealing outfit was rejected by a person from the Swedish Film Institute.
“Against all our principles”
For The evening paper says Byström that she had planned to wear only thongs and a corset at the gala, an outfit that according to her herself was approved by “a person from the production”.
“But then when I went out on the red carpet, I was sent back,” she tells the magazine. “It was a person who is, or has been, high up at SFI who sent me back. According to the person I got a yes from, she said ‘it’s against all our principles’.”
Byström – who was allowed back on the red carpet after putting on a pair of jeans – says she has some understanding of the person’s decision. At the same time, she wonders if this “principle” is something that belongs to the film world:
“I understand that certain institutions that receive money from the state have a mission that they must adhere to, but I find it difficult to imagine that film institutions have as a principle that it must not be half-naked. After all, they work with film, and it’s part of film that there are no such restrictions,” she says.
The person who allegedly rejected the artist’s clothing was according to The evening paper Vicki Harris who is the project manager for the Gold Beetle Gala. In a comment to the newspaper, however, she says that she “has no recollection” of having used the expression that Byström mentions.
