Romanian designer behind costumes worn by Shakira's dancers at FIFA World Cup final

A Romanian designer, Rafaela Pestrițu, created the costumes worn by Shakira's dancers during the show at the 2026 FIFA World Cup final.

Pestrițu, 31, said in an interview for ELLE Romania that the collaboration came through Shakira's stylist, with whom she had worked before on the artist's tour. 

"For the 2026 FIFA World Cup final, they contacted me again to create the dancers' outfits. The project evolved very quickly, and we ended up creating 40 custom looks in an extremely short period of time. My first thought was honestly about the scale of the project and the time I had available, but immediately afterwards came the excitement of contributing to a moment with such international visibility,” the designer said.

The outfits were the result of a collective effort between Pestrițu’s studio team and a family-owned factory in Slatina.

“In the final stage of the project, even members of my family got involved because the timeframe was so short that every bit of help mattered," Rafaela Pestrițu said.

Rafaela Pestrițu was born in Slatina and graduated from the prestigious Central Saint Martins college in London, the first Romanian admitted to this specialization. Over the years, she created designs worn by Shakira, Christina Aguilera, Kylie Minogue and Charli XCX. 

"It is a very special feeling. To know that pieces created by us, in a studio and by a team in Romania, made it to one of the biggest stages in the world is an important moment both for me and for the brand,” she concluded.

radu@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: FIFA World Cup on Facebook) ...