Olly Alexander on style, sexuality and self-expression There’s a scene in Olly Alexander’s 2017 BBC3 documentary Growing Up Gay where he’s backstage at Mighty Hoopla Festival wearing a pair of gold hot pants, having his body painted in glitter. “I had this bright idea that I’d like to be in my underwear covered in gold glitter,” he tells the camera as he prepares to go on stage. “Everyone thought I was joking, but I wasn’t.” This is still very much Alexander’s attitude to dressing himself now. “I love anything that provokes a reaction,” he explains when we catch up over Zoom. “I want people to think, ‘Oh wow! What’s he wearing?”’