In this week’s episode, we bring to you Bjork’s classic swan dress, which she had worn to the Oscars in 2001.

The Icelandic singer, though well-known for her startling individuality, had managed to shock some into silence at the Oscars by turning up in the white dress that looked like a swan draped around her neck, even as she dropped ostrich eggs on the red carpet. Which security guards kept picking up for her, she later admitted gleefully.

Bjork had been nominated for Best Original Song for “I’ve Seen It All” from the film “Dancer in the Dark”, in which she had also featured.

Many did not quite know what to say about the dress. The swan’s neck, draped around Bjork’s neck, hung listlessly, bringing in a touch of morbidity for some. Bjork kept adjusting it.

Other reactions were intense, and many of them scathing.

“This girl should be put into an asylum,” said Joan Rivers of Bjork. The dress had been created by Macedonian designer Marjan Pejoski. Pejoski had compared the outfit to sculpture. It was made of suede leather, woollen felt, goose feathers, swan feathers and lots of down.

Some had welcomed the dress, however, as one would an avant-garde work of art.

The dress redeemed itself, however, in the world’s eyes when it was made part of a show on Bjork at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York.