Best dressed on the night
On a turbulent Oscars night, the stars on the red carpet made the right kind of fashion statements, says Kate Finnigan
In recent years, the Academy Awards red carpet has been something of a snoozathon. Glamorous, yes, but actors have played it safe with a procession of classic long column gowns and fishtail trains. Few stars, it seemed, wanted to do more than look beautiful. In some ways, who could blame them? It’s one of the biggest global TV audiences of the year and it’s a conservative crowd in the auditorium, so who wants to be the one making a fashion statement that could go wrong? But on Sunday night – with poor Faye Dunaway catastrophically delivering one of the biggest award announcement fluffs in Oscar history – that all changed.
There were bolder looks than we’ve seen in years, less po-faced, with more acknowledgment of fashion trends, of womanliness and individuality. Perhaps because the traditional style leaders such as Cate Blanchett, Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton were absent, there was more space for new stars to make their own mark.
Nominees Naomie Harris and Ruth Negga led the way: Harris in a box-fresh, white knee-length dress with a split across the torso, a train and mismatched shoes, all by Calvin Klein’s new designer Raf Simons – the first time the label has appeared on the red carpet. Meanwhile, Negga, a Best Actress nominee for her performance in Loving, ticked off at least three of spring’s key fashion trends with a scarlet, long-sleeved, high-necked gown by Valentino, and matching red lipstick.
In the lead-up to the ceremony last week, there had been something of a catty drama when Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld claimed that Meryl Streep had commissioned a couture dress by the house which the atelier had begun to make, only for Streep to turn it down, Lagerfeld alleged, because another designer was offering to pay her a fee to wear something else. This was refuted in a statement by Streep’s stylist Micaela Erlanger, and the actress herself has said Lagerfeld “defamed” her, and is demanding an apology. On the night, though, Streep gave no comment on the dress that she did wear, a dark blue gown over trousers by Lebanese designer Elie Saab, but its long sleeves were part of a trend for actresses across the generations. With politics at a feverish pitch on the podium, there were more subtle but no less meaningful symbols of dissent on the red carpet. Negga, Hamilton playwright Lin Manuel-Miranda, and model Karlie Kloss, who is dating Ivanka Trump’s brother-in-law Joshua Kushner, sported blue ribbons symbolising the American Civil Liberties Union. Director Ava duVernay tweeted that “in a small sign of solidarity” she had “chosen to wear a gown by a designer from a majority Muslim country” – Saudi Arabian Mohammed Ashi. And both Emma Stone and Dakota Johnson wore gold badges in support of Planned Parenthood. Elsewhere, there were lessons in how to do black with added drama – none given better than Kirsten Dunst who should have won a special award for her spectacular swooping Dior gown and windswept hair – how to do gold and sparkle and not look like an Oscar statuette. (Actually, Best Actress winner Emma Stone did look a little bit like an Oscar, but beautifully so.) And for once the male stars revved up their style with some dashing, ontrend looks. All in all a fashionable effort. 2017: the year the Oscars finally found its modern mojo.