Hollywood’s Euphoric Red Carpet: the #Oscars
- Millie Bailey
- Mar 17, 2023
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 8, 2023
Read on as we explore a visual history ensemble of the Oscars.
The first-ever Academy Awards, held on May 16, 1929, at the Hollywood Roosevelt hotel, as an intimate dinner for entertainment industry insiders. The annual Hollywood celebration, known as the Oscars (named after the statuette), is watched globally. In all these years the Oscars have delivered some of the most iconic red-carpet moments aside from the formal white-tie affair.
Image by Oscars.
Audrey Hepburn and Givenchy defined a relationship that has become the gold standard of almost every brand. Hepburn who served as Givenchy's muse wearing the label in her most famous roles Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Sabrina and Funny Face which propelled Givenchy to stardom.
Images by Toronto Star, Harper’s Bazaar, and Vogue France.
Following the original “Brand Ambassadors” above, Grace Kelly’s scene-stealing wardrobe designed by Edith Head in The Country Girl. The dress worn in 1955, which Head described as “blue Champagne” the template Oscar dress of all time. She wore the dress on numerous occasions which would be unheard of now.
The opening of The Country Girl, The Oscars and, The Life Magazine photographed by Philippe Halsman.
Edith Head established a dress code in 1986. However Cher wore one of the most provocative Oscar outfits of all time: a midriff-bearing Bob Mackie getup with sheer, sequined loincloth, mohawk-style headpiece. Never one to dress down, Cher made sure she had everyone's attention.
Later examples of relationships forged between fashion designers and actresses is shown through Uma Thurman’s 1995 minimal lilac Prada gown helped showcase the Fashion house on Oscar Night. Which appeared on every cover the next day, making people realize that the brand image wasn’t solely nylon bags.
Images by IMBD and Paper City.
Gwyneth Paltrow wore a pink sequined tank dress 1996 Calvin Klein. The tank dress suddenly became the kind of dress that a cool girl would wear in the 90s. Paltrow returned to the Oscars in 1999, not as Brad Pitt’s arm piece but to receive her best actress award in Ralph Lauren inspired by the iconic Grace Kelly dress.
Images by PopSugar and Elle.
Nicole Kidman entered the scene wearing The House of Dior gown known as "Absinthe", by John Galliano. This dress created a new image, they upped the bar as they took an old couture dress and put it on the red carpet. Today it is the ultimate goal to be big enough to qualify to wear a one-of-a-kind couture gown to a major award ceremony.
Image by W Magazine.
The Oscars started to become a place where designers recognized that their success could be heighted by forging relationships with global stars and known for the emergence of the question “who are you wearing?”, serious high-fashion territory. The cyclic nature of fashion has made its mark on the Oscars‘ red carpet, as shown below.
Left to right: Julia Roberts in Vintage Valentino gown in 2001, Angelina Jolie’s right leg went viral in 2012, and has continued to make its return for the Oscar nights years after most recently with Florence Pugh for the 95th Oscar Night. Rita Moreno, 2018 In a brocade dress that she originally wore to the 1962 Oscars, when she won Best Supporting Actress. And finally, Lady Gaga in 2019 wearing the Tiffany Diamond worn by Hepburn in the movie.
In a curious way, the Oscars are the culture’s yearbook, but is arguably one of the main reasons why people watch the Oscars.
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