Oscars’ Best and Worst Dressed — Gal Gadot and Jennifer Garner Wows Can’t Make Up for Red Carpet Bores: Leave it to Helen Mirren and Jane Fonda to Steal the Show
BY Clifford Pugh // 03.05.18Red carpet queen Nicole Kidman scored again in an Armani Privé cobalt blue gown with a large bow on the waist and above-the-thigh slit. Photo courtesy of ABC/Rick Rowell.
With a milestone 90th anniversary celebration, more diversity in nominees, and the galvanizing effect of the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements, which has spawned a worldwide focus on the victims of sexual assault, one might think that Sunday night’s Academy Awards was primed for a breakout telecast. Instead, the nearly four-hour show was a snoozefest, as only Frances McDormand’s fiery Best Actress acceptance speech, Keala Settle’s goosebump-inducing renditon of “This Is Me” from The Greatest Showman, and a mildly entertaining surprise trip by Wonder Woman Gal Gadot and a few other stars to a nearby theater to thank moviegoers for paying to watch films, broke the tedious monotony.
The same subdued feeling extended to the red carpet, where most stars scurried by E!’s Ryan Seacrest, who is fending off allegations of sexual harassment in the workplace, and instead stopped to talk with Michael Strahan and his ABC crew.
Even so, fashion remains one of the prime reasons that viewers tune into the Oscars and there were a number of red carpet winners, along with a few sartorial losers. Several stars wore bright monochromatic colors — Best Supporting Actress winner Allison Janney looked chic in a red Reem Acra gown with a sculpted neckline while Nicole Kidman (decked out in more than 84 carats worth of Harry Winston diamonds) and Jennifer Garner wowed the crowd in electric blue gowns and Viola Davis dazzled onlookers in a hot pink Michael Kors gown — while others sparkled in metallic sequins.
Jennifer Lawrence in Dior, Sandra Bullock in Louis Vuitton, and Gal Gadot in Givenchy could have had a shimmery shake-off as they each glittered from head to toe.
But leave it to the elders to show the young ‘uns how to dress. Jane Fonda, 80, looked regal in a white Balmain gown with peak shoulders, while Helen Mirren, 72, was elegant and sexy in a form-fitting blue gown, accessorized with a large diamond and sapphire necklace. Mirren wore $3.8 million worth of sapphires and diamonds overall.
Still, the Hollywood legend endeared herself to the crowd when she was photographed downing a shot of tequila on the red carpet.
Elizabeth Anthony
And Rita Moreno, 86, recycled the gown she wore in 1962 when, to her surprise, she won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in West Side Story. The gown, which features a black strapless bodice and full skirt with gold accents created from obi kimono fabric, was made in the Philippines, Moreno said. It has been sitting in her closet all this time.
Among the other winners were Zendaya in a fashion-forward one-shoulder chocolate brown Giambattista Valli Couture gown and Margot Robbie in a white Chanel column gown, although we could have done without the tinsel trim at the shoulders.
Last year’s Best Actress winner and a perennial red carpet favorite, Emma Stone, normally is on target with her sartorial choices. But she struck out in a Louis Vuitton red blazer with a hot pink sash, and dark skinny pants. It’s a great look, but much too casual for the Oscars.
Click through the photo essay below and above this story for a look at these and other hits and misses on the Oscars red carpet.
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