The 93rd OSCARS: Fashion Rundown
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The 93rd Academy Awards, known popularly as The Oscars, premiered on April 25th. The Oscars is the most prestigious award ceremony in the entertainment industry and the biggest stars flock to the red carpet in search of recognition and glittering gold statues that would commemorate their year of hard work. Such an esteemed ceremony with a highly desired award prompts the display of equally coveted fashion pieces. Most celebrities donned distinguished brands from recent haute couture collections. The most worn brands seemed to be Valentino, Louis Vuitton, and Gucci. It is only appropriate that the best in movies would be accompanied by the best in brands. Most of the fashion worn features hours of hand embroidered Swarovski crystals and diamonds to create an intricate masterpiece much like the nominated films being recognized. A popular color, of course, was gold to mirror the dazzling prize; however, we also saw distinctive bold shades along with avant-garde silhouettes.
This past year has been especially difficult on a global scale. In the United States, while we have loved seeing celebrities in more natural elements, we have missed the celebrity Hollywood glamour that is so synonymous with American culture. Celebrity fashion did not disappoint this year, and we presume many were waiting to get out of their loungewear and into their custom gowns and suits. Below, we have highlighted our favorite looks along with key themes of the night, enjoy.
PHOTOBOOK’S TOP 5 OSCAR FASHION WINNERS
Regina King, Director for Oscar Nominated Film One Night in Miami
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The Oscars began with Regina King powerfully strutting in and presenting an equally powerful beginning speech. She addressed the verdict of Derick Chauvin, the officer who murdered George Floyd, “We are mourning the loss of so many, and I have to be honest, if things had gone differently this past week in Minneapolis I may have traded in my heels for marching boots. I know that a lot of you people at home want to reach for your remote when you feel like Hollywood is preaching to you, but as a mother of a Black son I know the fear that so many live with, and no amount of fame or fortune changes that.” Her powerful words make her one of the most beautiful of the night and were complemented by an absolutely gorgeous custom-made aqua blue Louis Vuitton duchess satin gown vertically lined with Swarovski crystals. The dress also featured a plunging V-neck (a popular style for the night) with voluminous flutter sleeves. This gown, styled by Wayman and Micah, was our favorite of the night and we knew we were in for a good night of fashion when King walked in. To make it even more PhotoBook approved, King wore responsibly sourced diamonds by Forevermark, a brand also worn by Amanda Seyfried and Viola Davis. Others who wore custom Louis Vuitton include Maria Bakalova and Yeri Han.
Amanda Seyfried, Nominee for Best Supporting Actress for Mank
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After a difficult and dismal year, many are looking to vibrant hues to spark a little joy this year as we wrote about in our Pantone’s Palette of New Beginnings piece post Inauguration. Cobalt blue, turquoise, and Illuminating Yellow and gold were prominent on the contrasting red carpet, however red and fuchsia seemed to also be a popular color choice. Amanda Seyfried grabbed social media’s attention in a custom Armani Privé hibiscus red strapless plisse tulle ball gown as her name soared to the number 1 trending twitter topic as soon as the awards aired. Her gown came from a design that was originally in cobalt blue in Armani’s Spring 2021 collection. Seyfried, like Regina King and Viola Davis, wore sustainably sourced Forevermark diamonds that make this look even more beautiful than it already is. The look was styled by Elizabeth Stewart, who also styled Viola Davis and Laura Dern.
Image Sourced from @csiriano on Instagram
While many Oscars’ gowns were made from tulle like Seyfried’s, LaVerne Cox’s piece should win an Oscar for the fact that the dress was made from over 1000 yards of Tulle! The tulle treasure was crafted by Christian Siriano, who was inspired by “an inside out Fuchsia orchid” according to his exclusive interview with Instyle. The ruffled tiered dress is complemented by black tulle. Of all the looks of the night, this piece is the most romantic and is the most twirl-worthy look on the carpet. The visual beauty of this gown is exemplified by Cox posting eight photos of the gown on Instagram; we really can’t blame her.
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The men of the red carpet brought their A game on Oscar’s night. Colman Domingo looked like a fuchsia dream in a Versace custom tailored suit embroidered with 4,500 Swarovski crystals for a liquid effect. According to Domingo’s Instagram, the embroidery work took 150 hours, which exemplifies the craftsmanship and glamour of many of the looks. Like Regina King, Domingo was also styled by Wayman and Micah, so it is fair to say that their styling was a highlight of the night.
LaKeith Stanfield, Nominee for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Judas and the Black Messiah
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PHOTOBOOK’S WINNING BRAND: VALENTINO
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Valentino was the brand winner of the night with the brand putting out many of our favorite looks. This does not surprise us as Valentino’s Code Temporal Haute Couture presentation was our favorite recent collection in its vibrant colors and stunning details. Fatima Farheen Mirza, the famous writer, wore a stunning turquoise blue green (maybe the most beautiful color we have seen since Tiffany Blue) cape gown paired with red Valentino Garavani heeled sandals. The color alone made our jaw drop and perfectly contrasted Mirza’s heels and the red carpet. Her look was styled by Julie Ragolia. Her husband Riz Ahmed, Nominee for Best Actor in the Sound of Metal, wore a Prada suit that was gorgeous, but we wish he took a fashion risk and wore a daring-colored complimentary suit for the power couple vibes we were looking for!
Leslie Odom Jr, Nominee for Best Original Song for Speak Now and Nominee for Best Supporting Actor for One Night in Miami
Image Sourced from @maisonvalentino on Instagram
Leslie Odom Jr. wore the suit that we wished Riz Ahmed would have dared to wear. For the Oscars Afterparty, he wore a custom designed turquoise Valentino suit with matching color dress shoes. We are in love with this look and commend Leslie Odom Jr. for being one of the best dressed men of the night. He also wore a Brioni double breasted woven jacquard 24 carat gold thread suit in a nod to the iconic gold Oscar’s statue. For his pre-show performance he wore a gorgeous Givenchy white suit with a silver hardware clasp at the waist.
Carey Mulligan, Nominee for Best Actress in a Leading Role for Promising Young Woman
Image Sourced from @maisonvalentino on Instagram
Carey Mulligan’s Valentino look was one of the most talked about gowns of the night, which is appropriate as this piece was the finale look of Valentino’s Code Temporal Haute Couture collection. In the original collection, the model who wore the stunning gold dress was styled with gold glitter covering her face for a mask-like effect. This was our favorite element of the collection and our only wish would have been for Mulligan’s stylist, Nicky Yates, to do the same with a customized face mask. The Oscars touted a great deal of gold lamé moments, but this may be our favorite.
Image Sourced from @maisonvalentino on Instagram
Zendaya’s Valentino look was also one of the most talked about of the night as she wore a custom designed Haute Couture fluo yellow chiffon ruched dress with a cutout at the midsection. According to Law Roach, Zendaya’s stylist, the piece was inspired by a yellow cutout gown worn by Cher on her variety show in 1975. This piece seems to be one of the more well thought out pieces, making it one of our top favorite looks of the night. We also love that the gown is in Pantone’s color of the year, Illuminating Yellow, in a nod to vibrant new beginnings. To make the piece even better, Zendaya also wore Bvlgari diamonds, which Bvlgari describes on Instagram as a “special sneak peek of our upcoming Magnifica High Jewelry collection, Zendaya brandished a lavish, diamond and platinum necklace featuring an opulent yellow diamond. The innovative transformable piece showcases two diamond collars and a removable brooch-pendant. Added to her diamond earrings, bracelet, and rings, her sublime ensemble topped 180 kts of pure 'Magnifica'.”
PHOTOBOOK’S WINNING STYLIST: VICE (@therealwourivice)
Andra Day, Nominee for Best Actress in a Leading Role for United States vs Billie Holiday
Image Sourced from @therealwourivice on Instagram
Like Zendaya, Andra Day’s look was also inspired by a Cher cutout look according to her stylist, @therealwourivice, on Instagram. Day dripped gold in a custom Vera Wang liquid gold metal (that’s right, metal) mesh cutaway gown. Like Leslie Odom Jr,. she also resembled the iconic Oscar gold statue in this look. Andra Day writes on her Instagram page, “a work of art, passion, craftsmanship...tiny pieces of chain link metal welded together to make it look like liquid gold...was a dream to wear.” We also think she was a dream to look at in this piece and we are so glad that stylists took inspiration from Cher, a fashion icon, because Andra Day and Zendaya’s look were two of our favorites of the night.
Angela Bassett, Nominee for Best Actress for What’s Love Got to Do With It
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Angela Bassett also opted for a bright red look. She wore an Alberta Ferretti custom crepe off the shoulder gown with draped organza shoulders. Jennifer Austin styled the look and paired it with a red Judith Leiber Hot Lips clutch. Bassett looked playful in her gown especially with its puff shoulder detailing and bow shaped back. Her dark blue eyeshadow contrasted the bright hue of her dress and added interest to the ensemble.
Margot Robbie, Co-producer of Oscar Winner Promising Young Woman
Image Sourced from @chanelofficial on Instagram
Margot Robbie, as a Chanel ambassador, wore a metallic lace dress from the Fall Winter 2019/20 Haute Couture collection. While this dress garnered a lot of public criticism since many claimed that it was not interesting enough, we still love to see a bit of simple elegance on the carpet among all of the bolder looks.
H.E.R., Winner for Best Original Song for Fight For You
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Vice, @therealwourivice, was our choice for best stylist of the night since he also styled H.E.R.’s drawing from another vintage inspiration piece. He writes on Instagram, “When we discussed the incomparable Prince Roger Nelson and his first Oscar attendance in 1985 where he won for Purple Rain I knew that was the direction!” In 1985, Prince wore a blue hooded embellished jumpsuit to the event. In a nod to his look, H.E.R. wore a cobalt blue custom embellished hooded cape with Prince lyric motifs and a flared leg jumpsuit from Dundas World to pay homage to her inspiration in music and fashion. H.E.R. was destined for the same fate as Prince since she ended up winning in the Best Original Song category and we cannot wait until she becomes just as much of an icon as he was.
Article by Tessa Swantek, Contributor, PhotoBook Magazine
Tearsheets by Destina Marotta, Contributor, PhotoBook Magazine
