The Surprising Way Kesha Incorporated a White Rose into Her Suit at the 2018 Grammys

At the 2018 Grammys, many attendees wore white roses in a show of support with the Time’s Up movement against sexual harassment and assault.

But while most stars, including Lady Gaga, Kelly Clarkson, and Camila Cabello, wore flowers pinned to their dresses or jewelry, Kesha found a more original way to incorporate the motif into her look. The “Praying” singer, who was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Pop Solo Performance at Sunday night’s ceremony, wore a navy blazer and matching trousers with a cream-colored silk blouse and a rhinestone-dotted collar underneath. The suit was decorated with Western-inspired white stitching along the front of the jacket, its sleeves, and pant legs, plus two embroidered white roses on either lapel. She completed the look with bedazzled silver cowboy boots and a handful of sparkly rings, wearing her long blond hair in loose, mermaid-y waves.

The decision to wear a suit over a gown also held meaning for Kesha, who sued the producer Dr. Luke in 2014 for sexual assault. Her stylist Samantha Burkhart explained to People: “After going through what she’s gone through in the last couple of years, her place of empowerment as a woman is wearing a suit,” she said. “She doesn’t have to put herself out there and be objectified in a dress. She gets to really make a powerful statement and own her place as a woman and be empowered. It’s not really statement on gender but its just a statement on her feeling comfortable and strong.”

Ahead of the 2018 Grammys, dozens of musicians signed a letter, led by the newly formed Voices in Entertainment organization, in which they explained the decision to wear white roses. “We choose the white rose because historically it stands for hope, peace, sympathy, and resistance,” they wrote, according to the Los Angeles Times. “Please join us in support of equal representation in the workplace, for leadership that reflects the diversity of our society, workplaces free of sexual harassment and a heightened awareness of accountability that our sisters started on January 1st and continued through the Golden Globes and onward.”

Related: Why Celebrities at the Grammys Wore White Roses in Support of Time’s Up