Behind the scenes with the Italian singer

Late Friday night, singer-songwriter Mahmood was far from his hometown of Milan when he took the stage at the LadyLand festival in New York City. This was the Eurovision regular and Moroccan pop artist’s first appearance not only in New York, but in America. Between performances by Countess Luann and Slayyyter, Mahmood wowed the sold-out crowd at the annual open-air queer music festival, a highlight of every Pride weekend in New York City (this year, Madonna herself performed alongside announced headliners Tinashe and Arca).

Although Mahmood first appeared in Italian X Factor In 2012, the 31-year-old had a great few years with the success of European chart-toppers such as “Soldi” (2019) and “Brividi” (2022). At LadyLand he played his biggest hits to date – “Tuta gold”, “Ra Ta Ta” and “Personale” – from his new album, The most beautiful places. The singer, who recently sat front row with Sabrina Carpenter at the Louis Vuitton men’s spring 2025 fashion show, wore a full Luis De Javier look for LadyLand, styled by Ramona Tabita, which included a tightly laced leather corset and baggy black pants, paired with white boxer shorts and black Sonora boots. He completed the look with a sleek side part, styled by Gonn Kinoshita.

“The style we chose gave me energy for the performance,” he said B“I was determined to give the Brooklyn audience one of my best performances.”

In addition to performing, Mahmood spent the weekend enjoying his surroundings and meeting friends like Riccardo Tisci. “I arrived in New York City two days before the festival to soak up the atmosphere of the city,” he says. “I went to clubs, took long walks around the city, had a photo shoot and met some friends.”