I look forward to the Oscars every year. The Golden Globes and SAG Awards are warm-ups and the Grammys provide a bit of comic relief, at least in the fashion department. But the Oscars are the grand finale to a long awards season: the show where the prizes mean the most and the fashion is the most glamorous. This year the first appeared true, but not the second. Sure, the speeches were heartfelt and the winners were gracious, but where was the amazing fashion?
E! made the Oscars a full day event, starting a pre-red carpet show at 2 pm (the actual show didn’t start until 8:30). While I find four hours of a pre-show before a two-hour-long pre-show to be a little excessive, this is the type of fashion hype that the Oscars build. They fall after the couture collections are over and in the middle of Fall 2011 fashion weeks–the perfect time to have your pick of the most exquisite dresses from the most talented designers. Countless numbers of websites speculate weeks in advance what each star will be wearing, updating their information right until the moment that the celebrity steps onto the red carpet.
With anticipation at an all-time high, Ryan Seacrest welcomed viewers to the red carpet and had his first interview with the lovely Jennifer Lawrence. For those of you who missed her extraordinary performance, Lawrence starred in Winter’s Bone, a movie that takes place in the Ozarks and made her appear much more homely than she actually is. Lawrence was stunning in a simple, red Calvin Klein sheath dress with almost no jewelry and relaxed wavy hair. But even though she looked glamorous and beautiful, was this really an Oscar-worthy dress? Where was the wow factor? She was nominated for best actress in her first role–an honor that could have allowed her to be a full-out star on the carpet–but she chose to be understated instead.
Even Lawrence’s seemingly bold color choice didn’t make her stand out, because red was the color of the night. Sandra Bullock, in a strapless corseted Vera Wang, and Anne Hathaway, in her first of eight looks as the host in vintage Valentino Haute Couture, wore almost the exact same hue. Penelope Cruz chose a L’Wren Scott in a deeper shade of red with sequins traveling in waves all over the dress. I really liked the dress–maybe not for Cruz, but she had a baby about a month ago and looked amazing, so more power to her.
Speaking of weight loss, it seems to be the only thing on people’s minds when it comes to Jennifer Hudson. You can’t deny the facts. Hudson lost a lot of weight. I don’t think that this means that she is going to look great in everything she wears. Case in point: her pick of what she called a “tangerine orange” dress by Atelier Versace. While the color was beautiful against her skin, the material and shape made it look like an over-worked prom dress. What I found most distracting was that her boobs seemed to have a life of their own in the gown. She had a noticeable tan-line across both of her boobs, which were squashed against her chest, only to break free in a little dance every time she breathed. I couldn’t even listen to what she was saying in her interview on the red carpet because I was so worried that one of the twins was going to make a break for it on her next breath. Thankfully there was no wardrobe malfunction, but the look was already ruined for me. Ms. Hudson, for your next awards show, please note Mila Kunis’s sexy yet elegant neckline on her lavender Elie Saab dress for how to show off the girls without distracting from the beauty of the overall look.
Another huge color on the red carpet was silver, especially when it came with plenty of sparkle and shine. Gwyneth Paltrow looked amazing in a simply cut yet supremely shiny silver Calvin Klein dress. She can act, sing, and play guitar, has adorable kids and a loving—as well as lovely–husband, is best friends with Jay-Z and Beyonce, and knows how to look like a true superstar. Halle Berry and Hailee Steinfeld, both in sparkly Marchesa numbers, also wowed on the red carpet. Berry truly has one of the best bodies in Hollywood, and her gown showed it off without giving anything away. Steinfeld, only 14 years old and nominated for best supporting actress for her first movie, True Grit, looked both age-appropriate (or at least as close to it as a teenager can get in custom made gowns) and elegant in a tea-length dress. I also loved the youthfulness of the headband in her hair. Steinfeld said that she sketched the dress that she wanted and then Marchesa took her drawing and made her the perfect dress. This involvement with her look makes me believe that Steinfeld will be one to watch on the red carpet for years to come.
Continuing with the sparkle trend were Amy Adams and Michelle Williams. Adams stuck with blue, which has become her signature color, but amped up the glamour in a navy-sequined, high-neckline L’Wren Scott column dress. The dress was amazing and could have easily showed simple glamour on its own, but Adams also wore a Cartier necklace with a big green stone. I felt that this cluttered the look, and she would have looked much better without it. Williams, on the other hand, is the queen of simple, sophisticated glamour. She chose a short-sleeved Chanel Haute Couture dress that skimmed her body and had amazing details. She had simple hair, makeup, and jewelry, all of which truly allowed the ornate dress to shine. She looked absolutely stunning, and I think that a lot of stars could learn from her understated elegance (ahem, Ms. Hudson).
Williams wasn’t the only celebrity that chose to use her clout to wear a one-of-a-kind couture gown. Florence Welch, of Florence and the Machine, has become a prominent figure in the world of high fashion. After wearing a Givenchy Haute Couture dress to the Grammys, she showed up last night in a Valentino Haute Couture long-sleeved gown. While the color kind of washed her out, no one could deny the beauty of her gown and the poise with which she wore it. Her posing and presence continue to get better, and she did justice to the gorgeous gown. She even managed to outshine a lot of the actors at an event where the musicians are supposed to be the afterthought. Showing up in a dress that was from the same Givenchy Haute Couture collection that Welch picked from for the Grammys, Cate Blanchett was my favorite of the night. Her poise and elegance in that lavender dress with pearl and crystal detailing would have made her stand out even if she wasn’t wearing the most beautiful dress of the evening. She never shies away from intimidating fashion or roles (Bob Dylan, anyone?), and took a risk by wearing such a high-fashion dress when almost everyone else played it safe. She looked beautiful, but more importantly, she seemed to be one of the few who remembered that Oscar fashion is supposed to look larger than life.
And just because no review of Oscar fashion would be complete without it, I’ll include Natalie Portman in her portrait-neckline raspberry-plum Rodarte gown. Portman is always beautiful, and she didn’t disappoint in this jewel tone. Her baby bump is noticeable, and she was glowing, even before winning Best Actress for her role in Black Swan. The dress was on the more boring side of Rodarte’s design aesthetic, but I was just glad that Portman was not wearing Dior. She is the face of one of their perfumes, but after John Galliano (Dior’s creative director) was suspended last week for allegedly yelling anti-Semitic comments, I was hoping she wouldn’t wear the label. As someone who is proud of her heritage, Portman, who was born in Israel and is Jewish, made the right decision by not wearing one of Galliano’s designs on the carpet.
On a night when not even Helena Bonham Carter, she of the different colored shoes at the Golden Globes, showed up in something spectacular, I guess I should be grateful for the beautiful dresses that were worn. I can only imagine that these celebrities are experiencing award show fatigue, but I can’t wait for it to start all over again next year.
Sources
http://www.style.com/peopleparties/parties/scoop/redcarpet-022711_83rd_Academy_Awards/
http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/redcarpet/games/glamcam/index.jsp?categories=2011_oscars&utm_source=door&utm_medium=oscars2011fdbanner&utm_campaign=oscars2011glamcam_us&intcid=fdb-110227-oscars2011fdbanner-oscars2011glamcam_us