Designers Direct Stars Toward Glamour, Class
The stars at the 71st Annual Academy Awards ceremonies Sunday were derelict in their duty to deliver fashion faux pas--they looked fabulous, disappointing armchair fashion critics and tabloids alike.
The bad hair, the goofy gowns and the scary ideas of beauty were swept under the red carpet by the squadron of fashion professionals who invaded Hollywood from the second the nominees were announced. Even gowns that were co-designed by their wearer--usually a guarantee of disaster--emerged with class (notably Liv Tyler’s collaboration with designer Pamela Dennis).
The female stars were old-time glamorous, with full, pastel gowns, upswept hair and blinding diamonds and pearls. Harry Winston alone reportedly lent nearly $70 million in jewels, along with Fred Leighton-estate gems and Martin Katz modern pieces.
Men, in their pursuit of classic evening looks, wore predictable black bow ties, notch- and shawl-collar tuxedos and white shirts--sadly minus the dressy shirt studs or bib-front pleats. Creative black tie seems to finally have perished.
More than ever, stars followed trends set on high-fashion runways. Love it or hate it, Celine Dion’s backward suit jacket and abstract white fedora were by John Galliano for Christian Dior. (More backward clothes, beads and trains were seen in recent European fall collections.) Trendsetter Tom Ford for Gucci created the Vegas-y gown for a sooty-lidded Helen Hunt.
Long, full evening gowns in pale pastels, like lavender, ice blue and faint pink, made black evening wear look passe. Matching satin or contrasting cashmere stoles wrapped bare shoulders.
More designers than ever bid to dress nominees, presenters and celebrity spouses. But only a few managed to get more than one label on a famous body. The house of Gianni Versace covered Catherine Zeta-Jones in a ruby strapless gown, Goldie Hawn in a slit powder-blue halter, Christina Ricci in a sleek pearl gray number, and Courtney Love in alluring black beads. Randolph Duke, who recently left as Halston designer, scored points for his own label with gowns on Laura Linney, Rita Wilson and Lisa Kudrow. Richard Tyler put Rachel Griffiths in geranium silk, and a white tuxedo on Ellen DeGeneres, whose companion, Anne Heche, came in a Cerruti made from glass dust-blended fabric. Evening-wear specialists Badgley Mischka won over Jennifer Lopez and Laura Dern, both in not-so-boring beaded black.
Designers have been tripping all over themselves to dress the hot starlets, notably Gwyneth Paltrow. She picked a frothy pink gown by Ralph Lauren and wore her pale blond hair in the season’s hot look--a slick and sleek bun.
But more mature actresses showed that youth and beauty aren’t always synonymous, if you pick the right dress. Lynn Redgrave, in a pale blue bustle-back gown and matching stole, once again supported Ethiopian bridal designer Amsale. Brenda Blethyn looked calm and collected in an etched Escada gown that didn’t arrive until nearly show time.
This year, several men could have won honors for the most startling transformations. Val Kilmer’s western tuxedo and looped tie from Billy Martin showed what a little daring can do. Billy Bob Thornton, he of the greasy hair, bad hats and black-toothed characters, dressed up in a white shirt, tie and stickpin.
Times fashion writer Michael Quintanilla contributed to this story.
