Presenter Halle Berry was such a standout on the red carpet in this intricately designed and fabulously executed Christian Siriano gown featuring thousands of mirrored pieces. I love the sequin mesh sides and the little train. I was just blown away by this gown. Christian Siriano was part of the E! fashion panel and he said it was a career goal to dress Halle for the Oscars. You could tell how proud he was of this look and he should be, it was phenomenal. The only thing I’ll say against it is that it flashed on camera and reflected the light in a way I found distracting when she was on stage. I don’t know how they could have avoided that. I would watch a two hour documentary on this dress. Her styling is also perfection.
I would have loved to have seen Van Hunt on the red carpet with her but he doesn’t need to go to everything and I imagine that these ceremonies can be a drag for plus ones. Sometimes I think about Don Cheadle saying that he feels restrained at the Oscars because he can’t talk smack about people when the cameras catch every moment. That’s so relatable to me apart from getting to go to the Oscars.
Presenter and EGOT Whoopi Goldberg wore a “custom Siriano liquid water” off the runway gown. I like how bold this is, the color and reflective properties of the fabric are such and standout. As a Gen X woman I love seeing Whoopi. She was a staple of my teen years. Whoopi brought her daughter, Alex Martin, as her date.
Performer Queen Latifah was also in Siriano, in a lovely crimson gown with puffy shoulders. Queen Latifah did the Quincy Jones tribute last night and I like that they opened with Ease on Down The Road from The Wiz! That was the first movie I remember seeing in a theater. I was five and I had skipped school that day, but my mom still let me go to the movies.
Speaking of the performances, we had a whole ass tribute to James Bond for some reason. I’m thinking Amazon paid for that. My favorite performance was Raye doing Skyfall at the end. She was adorable in her red carpet interview and I will be watching her career. Raye wore Vivienne Westwood and she looked like a bombshell.
Doja Cat was very on brand in leopard print retro Balmain. This was kind of cool looking and we’ve seen so much worse from her. I kind of loved her performance outfit with the dripping sequins even though it was quite on the nose for “Diamonds are Forever.”
Lisa of Blackpink was in a custom Mark Gong tuxedo dress on the red carpet. This is one of the most unique looking tuxedo gowns I’ve seen and I see the craftsmanship and thought that went into it. The designer describes it on Instagram as “a long tailored coat with a long pleated white shirt and velvet bow tie.” He calls it “strong, confident but mysterious” and says “it was joyful and exciting to create this look.” It definitely shows! I love how the buttons for the shirt continue down the skirt and how everything layers delicately.
photos credit: Avalon.red
I’ve never understood the love for Siriano. Halle’s dress is some of his best work, but his dresses never flatter the figure as much as they should. It’s as if he designs the dress he wants without thinking about the fact that a woman will be wearing it. And Halle’s dress would have been bolder and more interesting without the “it’s a dress for the Oscar’s because it has a train” that seems plopped on at the end.
The Vivienne Westwood by contrast honors the woman who wears it.
Siriano is actually known for the opposite, for collaborating with his clients and designing something to their tastes and preferences. He also works a lot with plus size ladies and makes them look/feel glamorous and beautiful. Whoopie’s dress wasn’t custom so maybe that’s why it doesn’t fit as good as Halle’s.
And Vivienne Westwood dresses are usually all the same (off the shoulder corset bodice, draped skirt). You can tell it’s a VW as soon as you see it. They are are usually flattering, if you have the right proportions (an hourglass figure). But they’re neither unique nor made to flatter different types of bodies.
@Persephone … Working well with his ‘clients’ wasn’t his jam the year he won Project Runway (great Deus, was it really 2007!). I’m still mad at the way he treated a teenage girl during the “Prom Dress’ assignment, making her feel bad for being ‘overweight’ and ruining his design.
The assignment was to create a prom dresses for high school girls, asking for their input and incorporating their wishes into the design. Siriano’s assigned high schooler was pump, and you could tell from the being that he wasn’t happy about it. He landed in the final two, and instead of sending his entitled bum home, the Judges lectured him about being able to work with people of all sizes and told him to reflect on the fact that his high school client cried next to him on the runway during the presentation because she didn’t like her gown (which was a hot mess he just threw together and didn’t give a damn about what she wanted or how it looked on her).
Season four was the first time I disagreed with the Project Runway Judges’ decision. I truly thought that Rami Kashou should have won that season instead of Siriano, but Victoria Beckham was the Guest Judge so I knew he would win.
I’m probably being unfair all these years later because people do change, but I will never forget that young girl standing on that runway crying and heartbroken over that gown and how Siriano had made her feel.
@yvette did we watch the same episode? Yes she was a plump girl but she was also confident and pretty demanding. She wanted a ton of stuff, including a brown dress, and a lot of lace and he did his best to accommodate even though it was not his aesthetic and it showed.
I just went to do a rewatch before posting. There was NO crying at all. She was very confident and laughed when the judges said she was right in wanting what she wanted and Christian needed to adapt that. I think you may be thinking of Ven in a later season. His client was definitely sobbing.
But Siriano was also just 22-23. His whole career since then has been about dressing all size women.
Could not agree more.
1-Disagree that Siriano designs “the dress he wants…” Like every designer he has hits and misses. Mostly hits IMO. And will forever appreciate him because he actually designs for women who do not fit in sample sizes and does not put them in glorified mumuus but fitted, beautifully created gowns. And by all accounts he is lovely to work with.
2-My thought on the Bond tribute was, in part, that it was an In Memoriam of sorts since Amazon buying it will be the death of Bond we’ve all known.
I love that Christian Siriano is as proud of the gowns he designs for plus-size women as for the teeny gowns he makes for teeny stars.
That said, Lisa’s tuxedo gown was one of my faves.
Halle’s dress was every thing. The workmanship and design omg
Agreed it was EVERYTHING. BUT there was another actress in a similar dress – Yvonne Orji In Pamella Roland. Not identical but still a bit similar and it took away from Halle’s.
Are those real bits of glass mirrors? Very heavy, if so.
Hallie’s dress was gorgeous. She looked beautiful. Queen Latifah’s dress was not as great. It was ‘ok’, but not great. Whoopi’s dress was also just ok, although I really did like the fabric. And I loved the Tuxedo gown on Lisa from Blackpink. That looks beautifully made and hella comfortable.
I liked Queen Latifah’s dress but thought it was poorly fitted; almost seemed a size too small the way it pulled in the front and didn’t fall right at her hips.
Whoopi’s dress was giving sci-fi vibes which isn’t a bad thing for a Star Trek veteran. As a sci-fi fan, I approve. Actually, Halle’s kind of was too.
Really love Halle’s dress. Especially in motion. He made sure she could move in it. I enjoyed the Bond performance but couldn’t figure out why Raye had the microphone wire pulled over her shoulder like an accessory. All the dresses in this post are great, even Whoopi’s daughter!
Halle Berry’s gown was EVERYTHING! Christian Siriano crushed it with this design. With Halle wearing it, you’re already a winner. Initially thought it was Scaparelli, but Siriano brought the fire! She looked absolutely stunning!
I felt the Bond performance and Broccoli tribute was something of a dig at Amazon.
Ease on Down the Road is great, but it was underwhelming as a Quincy Jones tribute. It probably should have come before the Bond medley, as those were all such iconic songs. The performances numbers were better overall than they’ve been in years.
“As a Gen X woman I love seeing Whoopi. ”
Be sure to catch pictures where she’s posing with Demi Moore. This Ghost reunion should give you all the feel
Lisa’s tux dress is actually pretty cool. It just looks kind of comfy and cool.
Selena’s look was my favorite but I do love Halle’s dress. She is so gorgeous. I also loved Raye’s gown and loved her performance.
This was one of my favorite Oscars ever. I loved removing the performances of ALL the songs nominated – it makes the show drag on and on. Even the presenters were so well chosen, Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan presenting best film was a nice touch and Quentin Tarantino presenting was great to see. I loved Queen Latifah’s performance of Ease on Down the Road. I thought Conan did a great job as the host.
I wonder why Adele did not perform Skyfall?
yeah, that would’ve been much better. Big shoes to fill for just about any singer and I don’t think Raye came close. I also found her gesticulating odd.
Halle blew everyone out of the water! WOW.
I’ve never really heard Doja sing like that. It was just OK, I thought. Loved her look.
Lisa’s tux is FABULOUS!!!!
If I were 30 years younger, I would wear the HELL out of that. Amazeballs.
Halle looks so glam in that gown! Gorgeous!
Whoopie looks like a roll of duct tape. Awful.
Love the tuxedo gown. I’m mixed on Halle’s. I like the mirrored look, since it has an art deco vibe, and that style of gown looks beautiful on her. But I think the piping along the top and bottom is what I don’t care for. It kind of reminds me of tinsel garland. The mirrored details are enough. The stones on the side panels and “garland” take away from the dress. They don’t add anything to it.
I love his designs and have followed for years. Have collected a few pieces myself including jewelry when I could. His attention to detail can only be appreciated once one is up close. Structure, originality, capture of light, and plenty of complements always
If Halle Berry were to come out in a potato sack she would still look as good as any designer dress. She’s really a goddess and hasn’t aged a second. I would love to see a designer do a version of that saying for someone like Halle. Good theme for Anna Wintour’s to consider.
I’ve never heard of Raye (I’m old, not really into music and last CD I bought was Best of Queen) but she was amazing, and I loved the look on her face at the end, it was like she realized she had totally nailed that song.
OMG! Does Halle Berry age? She looks amazing. If that’s what aging looked like, I’d be all for it. 🙂
Halle Berry looked AMAZING in that dress, one of the best of the night. That Bond tribute was a hot mess. Doja Cat was flat and screechy on more than one occasion. I want to like Ray, I think I do, but like Mary J. Blige of the 80’s she needs to learn some more control, some notes got away from her. When she’s on point though, like the grammy’s she’s EXCELLENT.