February 25, 2019 |
It might have been all about celebrating the best in film last night, but we are a fashion magazine which meant our focus was on the pre-show game. As Hollywood gold threw on their Sunday best and walked, pardon – glided down the Academy Awards red carpet leading to the Dolby Theatre, we got our scoreboards out and pretended we were Joan Rivers on Fashion Police. And so here are the real results of the night. Handpicked by our Editrix Sophia Neophitou, these are 10 of the best-dressed from the 2019 Oscars.
Olivia Colman was the biggest winner of the night. Not only did she get the gold statue for her role of Queen Anne in The Favourite, but also took away our heart’s award for the speech of the night. All that, while wearing super-detailed, custom Prada in a deep emerald green. Another one of the big fashion winners was actor Billy Porter, famed for his long and fruitful Broadway career but currently most known as Pray from Pose. And paying homage to the drag world and the ballroom scene, Porter wore a custom Christian Siriano velvet ball gown. While he did somewhat respect the black-tie code, he also made the world question gender norms in the world of red carpet dressing. He finished off his look with Stephan Jones jewels as just one of the many men who dug into the fine jewellery box last night. Another one putting the question mark under gendered dressing was young actress Elsie Fisher who arrived in a custom Thom Browne three-piece suit with a matching bow bag and patent booties. With her fair skin and blonde hair, the star of Eight Grade looked like Edie Sedgwick at the peak of her Factory days.
The 2019 Oscars also saw an emergence of Haute Couture. Colman’s The Favourite colleague Rachel Weisz was a vision in red latex as she swoon in one of the looks from Clare Waight Keller’s SS19 couture collection for Givenchy. The two-piece dress was a perfectly off-beat choice for the classic British beauty, who completed the look with Cartier jewellery and a decadent headband. Also going couture for the night was the Crazy Rich Asian star Gemma Chan in shocking pink Valentino. A simplistic silhouette, ruched and gathered in the finest taffeta was a bold choice, proving just how photogenic Pierpaolo Piccioli’s creations are. And as always, custom pieces proved to be the success stories too. Charlize Theron is known as the queen of Oscar’s red carpets, and she just reinforced that title with this year’s look. Wearing a custom Christian Dior piece designed by Maria Grazia Chiuri which took over 200 hours to create, it was all about an impactful silhouette and perfect tailoring. Oh, and that chunky Bvlgari necklace too. Another necklace was the talk of the night though – Lady Gaga’s archival Tiffany & Co. piece originally worn by Audrey Hepburn completed her custom Alexander McQueen corseted gown. Is statement jewellery having a moment? We surely do hope so.
Sarah Paulson wore straight-off-the-catwalk Brandon Maxwell. Another piece of Schiaparelli pink to make the world wink – it was a totally unexpected shape and one that needs the right wearer. Apparently, Paulson is that person. Paying homage to the late and great Karl Lagerfeld, Tessa Thompson sparkled in a tiered black dress from the designer’s ultimate Haute Couture collection for Chanel. And rounding off Sophia’s list is Emma Stone. Her signature auburn hair was darker and tidily slicked back, putting the spotlight on her custom Louis Vuitton gown. Embellished in 50 shades shades of bronze with futuristic shoulders, it was one of the finest examples of Nicolas Ghèsquiere’s vision being adapted for the red carpet. And that’s how you dress for the Oscars.
