United in Blue
9th August 2026
Anna & Lloyd at Blackpool 2026
Great DanceSport fashion is rarely about one dancer in isolation.
In partnership dancing, two performers create one picture. Their movement, styling and presentation need to work together, and costume has an important part to play in creating that sense of unity.
For the Amateur Team Match at the 2026 Blackpool Dance Festival, DSI Elite performers Lloyd Perry & Anna Sloukovapresented a striking example of this philosophy in blue.
Created as a complete couple look, Anna's vibrant Latin dress and Lloyd's coordinated menswear were individually designed, yet conceived to belong together. The result was bold, contemporary and unmistakably Latin.
Blue Designed for Movement
Anna's dress begins with a Dark Tan leotard base, providing a clean foundation against which the intense blue can take centre stage.
Individual strips of Metallic Blue Lycra are applied across the body, creating a highly dimensional surface rather than a conventional flat silhouette. As Anna moves, these individual elements respond to the body and catch the light from changing angles, giving the design an almost constantly evolving appearance.
The dress is extensively embellished with Crystal AB stones, adding brilliance to the metallic blue and ensuring that the detailing remains visible under competition lighting.
The combination creates precisely the effect required of high-level Latin couture: immediate impact from across the ballroom, with considerably more detail revealed when seen close up.
One Couple. One Look.
What makes this particular DSI Fashion story especially interesting, however, is that the dress was never intended to exist visually on its own.
Lloyd's outfit was developed specifically to complement Anna's.
His custom blue shirt combines a mesh body with raglan sleeves and double-mesh side panels, contrasted by satin collar and cuffs. Custom high-waisted trousers were created from a limited edition of our Alicante Trouser Fabric, completing the blue palette.
The fabrics and silhouettes are different because the requirements of the two dancers are different.
But the visual language is shared.
That distinction matters.
Matching a couple does not necessarily mean dressing both dancers identically. Successful partnership styling is about creating harmony, allowing each dancer to retain their individuality while ensuring that, together, they create one coherent image.
Anna and Lloyd provide DSI London with a particularly interesting opportunity in this respect because we support and dressboth members of the partnership. It allows our designers and makers to consider the complete visual picture from the outset.
Contemporary Latin Character
The finished look also reflects Anna's distinctive identity as a dancer.
Her Latin presentation is confident, energetic and intense, and the metallic construction of this dress amplifies those qualities. The individual blue elements create movement without disguising the athletic lines of the body, while the crystal embellishment introduces glamour without softening the strength of the overall design.
Designed by Svetlana and handcrafted by the DSI London team, it is a contemporary interpretation of Latin couture created around the dancer rather than around a predetermined formula.
That is an important distinction within DSI Fashion.
Our objective is not to establish one recognisable "DSI dress" that every dancer should wear.
It is to use our design knowledge, craftsmanship and understanding of performance to create something that belongs to the individual dancer, and, where appropriate, to the partnership.
Made in London. Made as a Partnership
Both looks were created through DSI London's Made in London production expertise, bringing ladies' couture and performance menswear together within one creative environment.
For Anna and Lloyd, that resulted in something more than two coordinated costumes.
It created a couple identity.
And on a competition floor filled with exceptional dancers and extraordinary fashion, that visual coherence can be every bit as important as the individual garments themselves.
This is another chapter in the growing DSI Fashion collection: preserving not simply what our Elite Performers wore, but the thinking behind why it worked.
Inspired by the Look?
Anna's DSI Elite dresses are available for sale or hire, alongside other gowns from our DSI Elite Collection.
Or, if Anna's look inspires you to create something entirely your own, Emma will be delighted to arrange a couture appointment with our Creative Designer, Svetlana, to begin developing a dress around your personality, movement and ambitions.
For dress sales, hire or bespoke couture enquiries, please contact Emma at emma@dsi-london.com.
Photography: Tomasz Reindl
