Ivan Frolov Is Making Onstage Outfits a Modern Spectacle

When you think of iconic onstage outfits in pop music history, your mind may go to Elvis' rhinestone-adorned white jumpsuit, Madonna's Jean Paul Gaultier cone bra or Cher's sequined Bob Mackie butterfly gown — looks that have become as central to these artists' legacies as their music. In 2024, one designer is making an impactful contribution to this sartorial cannon, reminding audiences how powerful a musician's fashion can be.

Ivan Frolov has always had an eye for design: When other kids were matching tiles in board games, he was matching brands to red-carpet moments. "It would be, like, 4 a.m. in Ukraine, and I would stay up to watch the Oscars in L.A," he tells Fashionista. "Each year, I would sit by the TV and see which celebrities were coming in which brand. That was my favorite game when I was a child."

Frolov went on to study at Kyiv's National University of Technology and Design, and began showing his work on the runway soon after graduating. He founded his self-named company in 2015. His first "big break" happened a few seasons into showing his collections at Ukraine Fashion Week, when performing artists started paying attention to his designs.

He had already dressed a handful of Ukrainian singers when Demi Lovato became the first major, internationally-recognized musician to wear one of his pieces, performing at The Forum in 2017 in a gold ensemble from the brand's Spring 2018 collection, styled by Law Roach. Shortly after, Dua Lipa wore a crystal bra from the same season at the Orange Warsaw Festival in 2018. In 2020, Doja Cat donned his "Azucar Fireworks" dress at the Streamys.

Frolov had been growing steadily, when, in February 2022, Russia invaded his native Ukraine. "[The war] has a big influence on us — we're very lucky that our office is safe right now and hasn't been destroyed by Russian rockets," he says. "Everything changed. We had to start from the beginning. We sent all of our money to our employees so they could decide for themselves what they wanted to do. If they wanted to move somewhere [else], they could do that. If they wanted to stay, they could stay."

Most of the team decided to stay in Kyiv and continue the progress they had made. Still, the company went back to square one, re-organizing and restructuring its production process.

"Our brand is my own fairytale," the designer says. "I want to bring this sexy, romantic vibe into people's lives. I feel that our clothes have a big influence on our mentality and vision of the world."

Almost a year into the conflict, Frolov reached a new level of prominence when it created a custom look for Beyoncé.

For the ultra-exclusive show at the opening of luxury hotel Atlantis The Royal in Dubai — her first live performance since 2018, pre-"Renaissance" World Tour — she wore the brand during arguably the greatest set of the evening: standing 16 feet above the stage on a rising pedestal while singing the now-mega-viral riff on "Drunk in Love."

Call it the "Beyoncé effect" or divine timing, but, within the next few months, Frolov's designs appeared in a Sam Smith music video, in Jennifer Lopez's "This Is Me…Now" and, perhaps most notably, on Sabrina Carpenter during her "Emails I Can't Send" tour. The "Nonsense" singer and her former stylist Jason Bolden collaborated with Frolov on a light-pink mini version of a corset dress from his Fall 2022 collection, featuring an underboob-revealing, heart-shaped cutout at its center, that she's since riffed on time and time again.

"[There's] a very powerful connection between me, Sabrina, her team and our brand," Frolov says. "[We shared] the same vibe, the same ideas and built a very warm relationship during the creation of all the looks. It's usually a very warm but short conversation about [what Sabrina wants the garment to look like] because we understand each other from halfway around the world. I just do what I feel, and Sabrina likes it… It's magic, to tell the truth."

Usually, the designer ships his designs out of Ukraine directly to each artist, rarely meeting anyone face-to-face. "I don't have a connection like [I do with Sabrina] with anyone else," says Frolov. "I visited L.A. last year and personally delivered her dress for the first time. When we met, I was so happy and inspired by her personality and her talent."

Their collaboration continues to flourish: To open for Taylor Swift on the "Eras" tour, Carpenter wore the Frolov style in varying colors; she then wore two completely new custom designs from the brand for her Coachella 2024 performances.

Frolov's knack for performance design is informed by his own background: As a teenager, he was a professional ballroom dancer — a period of his life that has greatly impacted his brand.

"All of our corsets are stretchy," he says. "Most celebrities who choose our corsets for stage performance do so because of the beautiful silhouette...But at the same time, they can do choreography and [get dressed in them] fast. It's part of the brand's philosophy that you feel most confident when you are feeling good… If people in my dresses can breathe, drink, dance and feel sexy, they're not thinking about what they look like. They're just 100% comfortable."

Even in the face of an unthinkably disastrous war, Frolov has continued to thrive, but not without an acute awareness for the weight his work carries.

"It's very difficult for [me and my team] to work in war because every day is a black day. We understand that someone can die in Ukraine each second and that our soldiers are protecting us on the frontlines," he says. "At the same time, we understand our power is in the creation of beauty. [Our work] is one way we can continue to support our country and our economy."

Frolov has no plans to leave his home country any time soon, largely because of the various charity organizations the brand works with. Through different collaborations and capsule collections, he says he's been able to donate roughly $100,000 to charities helping to rebuild destroyed homes, support military doctors and more.

"To me, fashion is not interesting if it's just [about the] clothes. It's also about the message to the world," he says. "That's why I decided our logo would be a human heart, because I believe that our clothes are alive. They have an influence on life."

Human touch is one of the most important elements of the brand. "It's always a very beautiful atmosphere when five people are doing embroidery on one dress at the same time. It really is magic," Frolov says. "What describes us as a team and as a brand, is that there's nothing impossible for us to achieve…. We have a separate, very big department of embroiderers who create everything with their hands. There are no machines that can do the same work as them. It's impossible to create these things without people and without their energy."

As Frolov continues to create mesmerizing outfits for A-listers across the board, it's hard to imagine there would be much more on his bucket list. But there's one thing at the top of the designer's goals: "I hope to present a separate collection during Couture Fashion Week in Paris."

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