By: Ava C. Green, Editor-in-Chief & Lio Salazar, Contributor
The Oscars are the most highly anticipated event of awards season. If you’re anything like us, you probably don’t actually care about who’s winning what. (Sorry, Connor.) We’re more concerned with who’s wearing what. This year’s Academy Awards saw no shortage of stunning outfits, but there are a few show-stoppers we just couldn’t get out of our heads.
Carey Mulligan brought a bold black-and-white look to the crimson carpet that, besides the neckline, is a near exact replication of a classic 1951 Balenciaga gown. Mulligan was nominated for Best Actress for her performance in “Maestro,” which takes place in the 1940s-50s, so the dress pays perfect homage to her performance. Still, the scalloped hem and bright, white tulle at the bottom gave a fresh feeling to such a classic look.
I’m sorry to all Haley Kalil fans, but I have no idea who this woman is. What I do know is that I had the same “Holy Sh–!” reaction to her dress as Ariana Grande did… great minds, I guess. (A.G. initials, rise up! I’m looking at you, Adam Gorski.) I know I’m biased to timeless looks like these when it comes to formalwear, but this dress achieves something similar to Carey Mulligan’s. The top reminds me of Hailey Beiber’s little red dress that Tik Tok was obsessed with for a while. It feels contemporary, but the fullness of the skirt, the elegance of the gloves, the understated jewelry choices — it comes together to look so dramatic!
Being theater kids, we’re so excited to see Cynthia Erivo on the red carpet in more and more green as an homage to her playing Elphaba in “Wicked” later this year. Designed by Louis Vuitton, Erivo’s dress definitely gives us “dinosaur with an emerald-colored flourish down her spine,” but I’m here for it. The sleek emerald green allows for other aspects of the ensemble to really pop and stand out: the matching emerald and silver jewelry,nail embellishments, which are incredible notes on her talent and stardom. We are, however, still having a hard time deciding what dinosaur species her dress resembles.
Florence Pugh has stunned in “Midsommar,” “Oppenheimer” and “Don’t Worry Darling,” and the Academy Awards were no exception. Gracing the red carpet in a Del Core design, her silver dress with a glacial green framed top encapsulated the timelessness and effervescence that she holds in her character. I will say, her silver shoes did throw me for a little bit of a loop, because I thought she was wearing shoes that matched the color and texture of the red carpet. The entire look — consisting of silvers and the hints of green — complements the diamond serpentine necklace she wears, the muted purples of her eyeshadow and the platinum blonde waves of her hair.
Do you think Anya Taylor Joy wants to play mermaids? Because her dress certainly makes it seem that way. Silver was the hot color on the carpet for the Oscars, but I think this intricately beaded, grayscale garment takes home the gold. The scaly skirt of the dress was inspired by a 1949 Dior dress worn by Natalie Portman at the Cannes Film Festival last year: both left my jaw on the floor. Anya Taylor Joy’s Oscars gown wasn’t quite as voluminous as the original worn by Portman, but I think Joy looks strong and statuesque in it, which is a refreshing contrast from the boho chic and ball gowns we typically see. I want to see more celebrities pulling up to red carpets dressed as literally Mugler robots, like Zendaya did for the “Dune 2’ (or “Twune”) premier, and I’m glad Joy, her “Dune” costar, got the silver, structural memo.
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