By Katie White
Western Herald
The Academy Awards are definitely about the movies, but a bigger part of the presentation is the fashion. The day of the Oscars, television is inundated with Red Carpet preshows. It’s all about who is wearing what and how they look in it.
The Oscars tend to come after the major fashion weeks. Celebrities are debuting the absolute newest visions from big name designers. What the stars wear while strutting down the red carpet sets the pace for trends in the new year and season.
“I didn’t see any huge failures this time,” said Chadwick Dillon, a WMU textile and apparel design major. “Nobody was super gauche. Besides Demi [Moore’s] dress, which was awesome in its overall construction, there were no stunning failures but no stunning successes.”
This year’s selection of colors and styles were tame compared to others but gorgeous nonetheless. There were almost no short dresses this year, and most actresses and guests went ultra-formal in floor length and strapless.
This year seems to be the year of fabric manipulation and the ruffle. Zoe Saldana in Givenchy, Kristen Stewart in Monique Lhuillier, Jennifer Lopez in Giorgio Armani Prive, and Vera Farmiga in Marchesa, to name a few.
There was a very vintage feel to many of the looks. The fabulous Sarah Jessica Parker went with a retro Chanel Haute Couture gown. The dress was a gorgeous golden champagne color with dark grey detailing at the bust. The strap that held the dress up was a mix of spaghetti in the back and halter in the front. It was reminiscent of a 1920’s Paul Poiret. It was one of the most unique dresses to make its way down Oscar’s red carpet.
Nicole Richie and Joel Madden were also picture perfect in their retro, old Hollywood looks.
The Grecian look is still here to stay and will always be a classic. It is a flattering look and doesn’t always have to be in white or cream like Sigourney Weaver proved in her ruby red one-shouldered piece.
Black is old faithful for glamorous gowns, but not this spring and summer. The color trends from the red carpet are giving the little black dress a run for its money. This season, it might have to be the little pastel dress. Those following us into the warm weather months are pastels, muted shades, grays, bolds and royal blue.
Mon’ique’s bold Tadashi Shoji and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s patterned Dries Van Noten proved how attention getting and powerful one color could be. That bold royal blue is stunning on any skin tone.
Men’s choices tend to be run of the mill, they all look alike in their penguin suits. But this year’s choices in suit and tie gave men a chance to stand out, too.
“Steve Martin did the sweet thing with rocking the silver tie,” Dillon said.
As Dillon said, actors made their mark in neckwear and even suit cuts. Host Steve Martin did opposite of co-host Alec Baldwin and went with a tie. Robert Downey Jr. went oversized and trendy in royal blue with his bow tie. Zac Effron went with a skinny black tie to compliment his slim, trim tux. Some actors even set themselves further apart by suiting up eco-friendly.
“I liked that they mentioned Woody Harrelson’s Burberry suit was made of hemp,” Dillion said.
This year’s Oscars ushered in a new era of filmmaking. A woman won for Best Director, and a new era of simplicity took over the red carpet, showing that vintage is in.
We have a lot to look forward to this year on the racks, in the shops and on our bodies. Casual or dressy; we’re going to be Oscar gold worthy.
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