On Zara Larsson's 'Midnight Sun' Tour, the Fashion Fun Never Ends

When Zara Larsson’s on stage, all stressors fade away. Things like taxes and unanswered emails don’t exist when the Swedish pop star is twirling and twerking, singing "Midnight Sun" and "Lush Life." No matter the season, summer feels close, and all you are is happy.

As Larsson’s stylist, Caterina Ospina’s job is to ensure what the singer wears on her Midnight Sun tour enhances the feel-good energy. “Zara loves glitter and sparkle, being super girly and sexy, but what she really needs on stage is to be free and have fun,” Ospina says over Zoom. “All the materials have to be stretchy—mesh, Lycra, and neoprene—because Zara moves 360 degrees across the stage; one second, she’s doing splits on the floor, and then she’s lifted by the dancers into the air.”

Aesthetically, Larsson’s style is an amalgamation of Y2K nostalgia and island souvenir-shop kitsch; Lisa Frank-esque printed leotards and tanks airbrushed with dolphins and hot pink hibiscuses; ruffled crop tops that shimmy with her movements. "Always rhinestones, so when the light hits her, she shines even more," Ospina adds. Pop icons like Brittney Spears and Christina Aguilera come up in conversation, but they're cultural touchpoints—not direct style influences. Larsson’s biggest fashion inspiration is, in fact, herself.

"You're like, 'Oh my God, she looks like a Bratz doll!' But really, she’s a Zara doll," says the London-based, Colombian-Spanish stylist. "Zara naturally has this powerful, over-the-top, cheerful, bright energy. Her style is just an extension of who she actually is."

The duo has been working together since last June, when Ospina styled Larsson in a Celine Kwan neon ribbon-wrapped tube dress for London’s Summertime Capital Ball. That opportunity, as Ospina describes it, was random and last-minute: Ospina's agent came to her only a day and a half before the show. Still, it felt fated. She had been streaming bubblegum-pop anthems like "Symphony" for years. As a little girl growing up in Toledo, Spain—"a small gossip-y town, where dressing differently wasn't a good thing"— Ospina styled her Polly Pockets and Bratz in the outfits she wanted to wear. Having a childhood doll as your first client is great preparation for working with Larsson, who, in many ways, is a human Barbie.

"I look back on us connecting in that moment as magic," says Ospina, who studied Fashion Promotion with Styling at the University of Central Lancashire and worked as a fashion assistant for British Vogue, before eventually going freelance in 2019. "Zara saw my vision, what I was able to pull for her in such a short period of time, and liked it. Since then, we haven't stopped."

In the months since their fashion link-up, Larsson has evolved from a pop girlie whose songs trend as audio snippets on TikTok to a cultural juggernaut. She took home her first Grammy Award, "Best Dance Pop Recording" for Midnight Sun's title track at the 2025 ceremony. U.S. figure skating gold medalist Alysa Liu skated to Larsson’s verse on PinkPantheress’s remix of "Stateside," a track currently sitting at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 7 on the Global 200.

The explosion of Larsson's star power has also meant an influx of fashion opportunities. She teamed up with Spanish fashion label Desigual on a custom “Life’s a Beach” collection and is launching swimwear under her intimates brand, Main Rose. Despite being in the music business for almost a decade—Larsson won the Swedish version of America’s Got Talent when she was 10 in 2008—her fashion credibility took time to build.

"To be completely transparent, when I first started working with Zara and approached designers to pull looks, the initial responses weren’t extremely positive," Ospina says. "In their eyes, Zara wasn't as big as she is now, which was sad and surprising because she’s always been an icon." Some celebrity stylists would take "No" as a setback, but Ospina saw it as a creative challenge and a chance to work almost exclusively with indie designers. They were more readily interested in collaborating, anyway.

For Larsson’s appearance at the 2025 MTV VMAs, Ospina tapped the Ireland-based Sorcha O’Raghallaigh for a custom, sky blue sheer slip dress, bedazzled with crystal fringe and rhinestone hibiscus motifs. Alineo, a small brand from Spain, with "mermaid-ish, fairy vibes," makes Larsson’s sunset-toned two-piece sets covered in dangling star-shaped charms and key chains. Paolina Russo’s neoprene one-pieces and rash guards encapsulate the "summer isn’t over yet" mantra of Midnight Sun.

Ospina’s favorite fashion collaboration was Larsson’s look for the 2025 Grammys: a sunshine yellow couture two-piece by Kevin Germanier, whose Paris Fashion Week shows Ospina used to sneak into as a Harper’s Bazaar and Elle UK intern. Featuring an asymmetric bra top, skirt, and sparkling waist piece mimicking the rays of the sun, Larsson's Grammys set was handcrafted by a team of 12 beaders and four sewing technicians. "All beads used on the dress were upcycled and imported from India, and every sequin was tie-dyed in that tone of gold specifically for Zara," Ospina says.

Without question, Ospina says her overall highlight has been entering the kaleidoscopic, welcoming world Larsson is building. "I style all her dancers and the band as well, because it's important to Zara that they’re happy and their clothes feel individual to the Midnight Sun universe," she says.

When fans give the pop star key charms and trinkets outside of her shows, Larsson clips them onto her chain belts and wears them when performing. "It’s not just, 'Ha, sure, give me the gift. Thank you,' which—trust me—is how a lot of stars are. No, Zara cares about her fans and invites them into her fashion."

Larsson’s deluxe edition of Midnight Sun, titled Girl’s Trip, debuts May 1. Her stylist is understandably tight-lipped about what Larsson's next chapter will look like. She's comfortable hinting the pop star's shiny, summery aesthetic isn't over yet. "Obviously, as Zara says, Midnight Sun is never going to end," says Ospina. "She doesn't even like it when I call it an era because she doesn't consider it that; for her, Midnight Sun is a lifestyle, a mindset. It's Zara."