The upcoming Academy Awards on April 26 is the grand finale of this year's awards season – if the Golden Globes, Critics' Choice Awards and other events last month say anything, it's bound to be a night of unforgettable fashion. To welcome this big night, here's a look back at some of the most controversial and iconic shapes in history.
When Barbara Streisand won the Award for Best Actress for her performance in Funny Girl, the singer-actress wore Arnold Scaasi's sequin jumpsuit with flared leg and tuxedo cuffs. The outfit, which happened to be almost completely see-through, caused quite a stir, and the 26-year-old later said she didn't take into account the suit's unique weakness on the Oscar stage. "I didn't know that when the light hit that dress, it would go through," she said in a later interview. "I thought to myself, I'm going to win two Oscars in my life, and next time I'll be more conservative."
Theatre Queen Cher was undoubtedly the protagonist on the red carpet that year. She wore a design by her longtime collaborator Bob Mackie: a mid-rise black sequined gown paired with a dramatic feathered headdress. It's a full Las Vegas dancer look that has been talking about for years. She reportedly wore the outfit as a form of rebellion against the Oscars, which did not nominate her for "Mask." While Cher may regret this choice, it's still iconic. "I know some people in the academy don't think I'm a serious actor," she said. "I always feel a little sad that I'm wearing that outfit to present Don Ameche with the Award for Best Supporting Actor. It seemed to make him a little nervous."
Half dressed and half tuxedo, Kim Basinger's Frankenstein outfit, with only a white glove, left critics divided. However, not many people know that the design of white satin is not the work of a luxury brand, but is designed by herself.
Whoopi Goldberg wore this purple and green brocade dress at the 1993 Oscars, along with matching shoes! Of course, it was eye-catching, and even accompanied by a dramatic cape. The outfit received mixed reviews, but you can't dismiss her attempts because she tried to jump out of the trap of too safe dresses.
Australian costume designer Lizzy Gardiner, who won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design that year, appeared on the red carpet wearing her own unexpected design. Her dress was made with 254 American Express Gold Cards, all connected together with wire. "That night, it really upset a lot of people," Gardiner later reflected. "A lot of women, I think they feel betrayed, or angry, because I'm not taking things as seriously as they should be."
When it comes to fashion, the 1999 Oscars were arguably the most interesting year of all time. But an undisputed highlight is that Céline Dion wears a reversed tuxedo designed by John Galliano with a handsome sleek beveled hat. This was quite different in the period when the red carpet was still dominated by traditional dresses. "When I put that dress on, everyone was wearing a dress, not pants," she later recalled. "I'm the only one wearing a Galliano turning suit, and if I do that today, it's acceptable." It was very avant-garde at the time."
This dress shocked the world. Icelandic singer Björk wore a swan dress designed by Marjan Pejoski at the 2001 Oscars, causing the most sensational pop culture moment of all time. The full skirt and long swan neck of the dress, which wrapped Björk himself like a scarf, were later preserved in museums around the globe. The controversial look even comes with an egg-shaped wallet. The singer brought 6 ostrich eggs and sprinkled them on the red carpet. "Other people's bodyguards kept picking them up and saying in their thick American accents, 'Excuse me, ma'am, you dropped this,'" she said.
In 2002, Gwyneth Paltrow changed his elegant and sweet red carpet style to a gorgeous Gothic style. She wears an Alexander McQueen dress with tight pleats on the upper body and a full taffeta skirt on the lower body. This unexpected stylistic moment was criticized by critics, and Pactrow had some regrets. "I still like the dress itself, but I should wear a bra, I should just do a simple beach haircut and wear less makeup," she later said. "That would be as I wanted it to be – a little bit of a punk feel at the Oscars."
Angelina Jolie's 2012 Oscars styling is definitely the most meme in recent history. The actress threw herself into the high slit of her dress, sunbathing her right leg on the red carpet so much that her exaggerated posture sparked an entire social media movement, known simply as #AngiesRightLeg. There's even a Twitter account that's her left leg because her right leg gets all the attention.
The ill-fated Prada dress that Anne Hathaway wore at the 2013 Academy Awards brought some dramatic changes to the red carpet. The actress, who won best supporting actress of the year for Les Misérables, decided to wear a pink Prada dress hours before walking the red carpet because her original Valentino dress was considered too similar to another actress's dress.
Not only did critics lash out at the dress's awkward chest contours — Hathaway later joked that "it looked like my nipples hardened" but the changes made at the last minute were also widely seen as a mockery of Valentino. Hathaway eventually apologized. "While I love the clothes I wear, it was a tough final decision because I was very much looking forward to putting on Valentino to commemorate my deep and meaningful relationship with The Fashion House and Valentino herself," she said. "I deeply regret any disappointment that has been caused."
In 2013, after Jennifer Lawrence won the film for "The Happy Thread Behind the Clouds," she chose a Dior strapless dress designed by Raf Simons to attend the awards ceremony. Its plump, fluffy skirt was no doubt thrilling, but when she later walked up the stairs to accept the Oscars at the awards ceremony, it caused her to trip and cause wild rumors.
In 2014, "Fidelity" Pharrell abandoned the traditional men's wear code and switched to a shortened Lanvin tuxedo with shorts instead of long pants. He also wore shoes without socks. The bold look left critics divided, but cemented the singer's position as one of Hollywood's most adventurous men.
In 2018, actress Rita Moreno chose to recycle the Oscar dress she wore in 1962. In 1962, she won the film queen with "West End Story". The dress was slightly altered on its second appearance. The neckline became strapless, and Rita Moreno added a heavy gold necklace for dramatic effect.
Billy Porter stole the limelight when he attended the 2019 Oscars in Christian Siriano's custom prom dress instead of a tuxedo. "I've always wanted to wear a prom dress, but I don't know when." Porter talks about this look. "I want people to understand that you don't have to understand or even agree with someone else's authenticity and authenticity, but we all have to respect each other." People will feel very uncomfortable with me as a black man in a prom dress, but it's none of mine, it's my own business."
British costume designer Sandy Powell wore a milky white suit with piles of autographs at the 2020 Oscars ceremony. She collected the signatures throughout the awards season from stars such as Robert De Niro and Renée Zellweger, and later sold the suit to an arts fund charity to help preserve and preserve the home of her late friend and mentor, British filmmaker and artist Derek Jarman. It ended up selling for about $22,000 at auction.