August 16, 2023 |
Today is a good day to raise a glass to a diva, so “don’t just stand there, let’s get to it” because it’s Madonna’s 65th birthday. A true anomaly of nature when it comes to supreme talent, tastemaking and influence, Madonna has done it all from kissing Britney to commanding the Superbowl Halftime stage, starring in films and touring around the world. Listing her masterstrokes alone might take 65 years; afterall Madonna has been reigning as resident Queen of Pop (slash life) since she stepped onto the scene in 1983.
To celebrate her six and a half decades spinning around this rocky planet, we’re looking back at one of her most iconic – be it rather niche to non Madonnamaniacs – looks: the smouldering yellow ball gown she wore at the fourth annual VH1 Fashion Awards on October 23, 1998. Designed by Olivier Theyskens, who was just 21 at the time, it’s a piece from the Belgian designer’s a Victorian-inspired spring/summer 1999 collection, selected for the singer by American costume designer Arianne Phillips. Its bodice was corseted, the sleeves long and fitted. From the dropped waist it cascaded down to the floor with writhing satin drapery spliced in a spiral and pinned together again by a slew of Theyskens’ signature hook-and-eye clasps. In keeping with Madonna’s gothic-girly signature style – despite the vivacious hue of the dress – her waist-length wavy black hair was worn down and chunky obsidian costume accessories adorned her bust. Say what you will about the Frankendress, but it’s the design that catapulted Theyskens into stardom. And no doubt about it, Madonna has always been one to favour fresh talents before they’re cool.
At the ceremony, Madonna performed ‘The Power of Good-Bye’, and was later honoured by Donatella Versace and Sting with the Gianni Versace Tribute Award. She was also presented with the trophy for Most Fashionable Artist which she accepted while swathed in Theyskens’ buttery satin fabric.
In a 2017 interview for British Vogue, Theyskens recalls when, as a young and unknown designer, he had folded the yellow gown for Madonna in a big box and driven wildly through two red lights on Paris streets to get the dress onto a train and send it on its way to Los Angeles. He continues, “We were just a team of friends, basically, and we had to sew 500 hooks and eyes by hand.”
Since Madame Madonna owned the night that fateful October evening, the dress has only breathed air away from an archive on one occasion: Theyskens’ She Walks in Beauty exhibition at Antwerp’s famed fashion museum, MoMu, in 2017.
For 65 years, Madonna has served us with lavish lewks, seminal records and all-round iconic-ness. It’s truly been a blessing. Viva Madonna!
