Hair was high and necklines low. Gown colors clashed with the red carpet and complexions. The stars we really wanted to see dashed past the cameras, mum on their dress labels and who they’re dating. Another Sunday afternoon at the Academy Awards.
It was a fashion parade that steered toward safe rather than sorry: lots of pretty and nothing too risky. Where’s Halle Berry and Björk when you really need them?
One of the first and best gowns to make an appearance was a chocolate Carolina Herrera worn by Amy Adams. It was structural but feminine in its volume and details. A striped ribbon encircled the bodice, giving the gown a youthful edge.
Keira Knightley dazzled in an eggplant-colored gown by Vera Wang that was intricately cut around her curves and flared at the bottom in a swirl of a trumpet hemline. Her over-the-top necklace: a vintage Bulgari piece from the 1960s.
Volume was one of the trends, says Tom Julian, a fashion analyst who covers the red carpet parade for Oscar.com. He called it “a return to ballgowns, full skirts, trains.”
Volume also went wrong. Terribly wrong. Charlize Theron, usually a never-miss when there’s a photo op, wore a dress by one of her favorite designers, John Galliano for Christian Dior. But the big, shiny bow that sat on her left shoulder looked like a giant raven flapping its wings.
Color consultants needed to be called for Michelle Williams, who wore an ethereal tulle Vera Wang the color of orange Jell-O. The dress was lovely but the color clashed with her alabaster complexion.
But another pale face, Nicole Kidman, managed to pull off an ivory Balenciaga gown. She managed to look elegantly subtle.
For once, the men turned as many heads as the women: George Clooney in a new custom-made tux, Terrence Howard with a jeweled lapel pin and Will Smith wearing a very of-the-moment vest under his jacket.
By Donna Kato – Mercury News