by If the Oscars are seen as the pinnacle of red carpet dressing, the Academy has changed things up for 2023 — with a champagne-colored carpet. Although the change was not known when stylists finished their clients’ outfits, there was a striking correspondence between the carpet and the clothes. White, beige and oyster dresses dominated, bringing a slightly bridal feel.
Related: Oscars 2023: The red carpet – in pictures
Also on board were the stars of the winning film Everything Everywhere All at Once. Jamie Lee Curtis wore a champagne colored crystal long dress while Michelle Yeoh wore a tiered white slip dress by Christian Dior. Others who wore white included Halle Berry, Michelle Williams and singer Tems. Florence Pugh, Ana de Armas and Rooney Mara opted for an oyster shade, while the palest pink was also popular – worn by The Whale’s Andrea Riseborough and Hong Chau. Fan Bingbing and Malala Yousafzai wore silver.
The carpet color change was made because the photography area was indoors rather than outdoors that year and red was considered too dark for pictures. But if the traditional red carpet contrasts with those pale colors, the new backdrop didn’t have the same impact. The change was not appreciated by the participants. Saturday night before the ceremony, Curtis tweeted a face-to-face memoji of himself with, “Apparently the @TheAcademyOscars carpet matches my curtains.” Unlike red, the carpet also quickly soiled with debris, hardly the glamorous look of yesteryear.
Ahead of Sunday’s ceremony, Oscars organizers distributed a guide to attendees, encouraging them to make more sustainable red carpet choices. Few followed these suggestions, but some wore designs from the brand’s previous collections – including Rooney Mara, Winnie Harlow and Cate Blanchett, who chose archival Louis Vuitton pieces.
If some red carpets have seen stars use clothing to make political statements lately, the Academy Awards have been quiet on that front — with one exception. Iranian-born actress Shohreh Aghdashloo wore a Christian Siriano dress with the words “women,” “life,” and “freedom” embroidered on one side, along with the names of Mahsa Amini, Hajar Abbasi, and Nika Shakarami (women born in September in Iran were killed). on the other. “I knew I wanted to wear something that contained the Iranian freedom fighters’ slogan,” the actor said.
There were other trends than matching colors to carpets. Some stars got lucky by wearing a contrasting bright yellow – including costume designer Ruth Carter, Banshees of Inisherin star Kerry Condon, Winnie Harlow and Sandra Oh. Sleeves – not often seen in the glamorous world of the red carpet – have crept in thanks to a colder weather system in LA. Melissa McCarthy, Blanchett and Rihanna – in a floor-length leather gown by Alaïa – wore long sleeves, while Nicole Kidman’s asymmetric Armani design partly followed the trend. It had a sleeve.
Men largely stuck to traditional tuxedos, but there were some exceptions. Barry Keoghan, who is becoming known for his colorful suiting, wore a lavender one on the red carpet, and Paul Mescal’s cream jacket and wide-leg pants looked sophisticated. Lenny Kravitz lived up to his rock god image with a low-cut satin shirt. But it was the details that were key here – whether with the exaggerated collars on Riz Ahmed’s Prada shirt or the bow tie from James Hong’s Everything Everywhere, it featured a detail from the now hugely popular film, revealing two perfectly placed pop eyes.
