Along with Writing with Fire — the Indian film nominated for Best Documentary Feature — we saw another notable Indian representation on the red carpet of the 94th Academy Awards.
Rapper Megan Thee Stallion made her debut at the event in a frosty blue sculptural gown by Delhi-based designer Gaurav Gupta. Encrusted with crystals, the high-slit, strapless gown with gill-like ruffles took over 1,500 man-hours to make.
Gupta’s gown was grand, befitting the carpet. As were the choices of several other attendees: Zoe Kravitz wore a soft-pink column gown by Yves Saint Laurent, channelling Audrey Hepburn; Lupita Nyong'o shimmered in a gold Prada gown; Nicole Kidman, Best Actress nominee for Being The Ricardos, looked elegant in a powder-blue Armani Privé gown with a poofy peplum and crystals-sprinkled train; and the Best Actress winner Jessica Chastain (for The Eyes of Tammy Faye) looked like an ethereal forest nymph in an ombre lilac Gucci gown trimmed with ruffles. Absolutely beautiful!
But ‘beautiful’ was not the word that best described the red carpet last night. The looks that captivated the internet were not the ‘standard’ Oscar-worthy fare. Not a big gown with a billowy train but itsy-bitsy shorts. Not luxe, deep-coloured men’s evening wear but candy-coloured suits.
The best looks of the night had one thing in common: They flouted the stuffy rules of ‘high-society’ dressing, marking the phasing-out of highbrow conservatism that no longer does — or at least should not — characterise the movie industry.
The Classic White Shirt
Zendaya, Kristen Stwart, Uma Thurman — some of the best-dressed attendees — came dressed in some version of the white shirt. Zendaya wore a midriff-baring satin Valentino shirt with a cascading, floor-length sequined silver skirt in silver by the same brand. Kristen Stewart unbuttoned all but one crystal button of the sheer Chanel shirt that she wore under a black tuxedo jacket and hot pants. Uma Thurman stayed loyal to the traditional proportions of a button-down shirt, opting for a conservative number by Bottega Venetta, and teaming it with a floor-length black satin skirt.
Red-carpet critics discussed whether it was Thurman or Zendaya who successfully channelled Sharon Stone’s Oscar look from 1998 of a lavender satin Vera Wang dress with a simple white GAP button-up shirt, which so flustered viewers. Whoever it may be, it is clear that the subversive potential of a white shirt at an event like the Oscars still holds — precisely because it is so elemental and indecorous a choice on the red carpet, it comes to be a radical.
For men, on the other hand, where a dress shirt is usually the foundation of a tuxedo look, its absence became symbolic. Flouting every kind of red-carpet dressing rule possible, actor Timotheé Chalamet chose to go shirtless under an embroidered women’s lace jacket by Louis Vuitton — a look so provocative and disruptive, it will stay on in Oscar history.
Monochrome Tailoring
Amidst the usual army of actors that wore black-and-white tuxedos — the red-carpet uniform — some gave us some much-needed respite in head-to-toe colour. Marvel star Simu Liu wore a firetruck red Versace suit and perhaps, taking cues from Chalamet, ditched the shirt altogether at the after-party. Colombian singer Sebastian Yatra appeared in a soft pink Moschino tailcoat and brogues to match. Blade star Wesley Snipes forwent the usual tailored pants, favouring a custom burgundy jacket with matching Bermuda shorts worn over leggings.
But none wore colour better than Kodi Smit-McPhee, the 25-year-old actor nominated for his role in The Power of the Dog, who chose a baby blue Bottega Veneta suit with matching booties and dripped in custom Cartier diamond jewellery.
Return to Red
Long considered a fashion faux-pas, there has been no dearth of red on the proverbial red carpet lately. It is the instinctual colour for those meaning to make a splash, and this time around, there was a sea of red. But it did not feel old. Thanks, in part, to Ariana DeBose, winner of the Best Supporting Actress award for West Side Story, and frontrunner of the red trend. She wore red Valentino pleated pants, a bralette, and a trailing cape tied to her arms with insouciance — the red victory outfit of the first openly queer woman of colour to win an acting Oscar.
Black-ish actress Tracy Ellis Ross was another attendee who wore red but managed to make it look fresh in a Carolina Herrera number with a deconstructed sweetheart neckline that had poof, fitted tailoring, and so much elegance. And while most turned their attention toward Kourtney Kardashian’s vintage black Mugler dress, Kirsten Dunst — nominated for Best Supporting Actress for The Power of the Dog — pleasantly surprised everyone with a frothy strapless gown made of tiered ruffles from French designer Christian Lacroix’s collection from 2001.
All photos by Hunter Abrams c. The New York Times Company 2022
Swareena Gurung is a freelance fashion and culture writer.
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