Red carpet fashion at the Oscars

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 01:00:00 +0000

As design expert Jeffrey Monteiro explained to Salon, Oscars red carpet fashion sets the stage for future Hollywood styles while drawing upon fashion from years past. This year's trendsetters include "Zero Dark Thirty's" Jessica Chastain, Reese Witherspoon and 9-year-old actress Quvenzhané Wallis, who brought a "puppy purse" to the ceremony.

Take a look at the styles designers are buzzing about at the 85th Annual Academy Awards:

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A peek under Oscar’s skirt

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 00:30:00 +0000

The red carpet event at the Oscars, Hollywood's preeminent see-and-be-seen affair, is as much about celebrity pageantry as it is a chance for stylists to make their mark. Each year, designers prepare by studying successful looks from seasons past, searching for a gown that will inspire other designers for years to come.

Though similarities between classic looks are often coincidential, the references can be strategic, too. Jeffrey Monteiro, a fashion expert and former design director at such houses as Derek Lam and Bill Blass, explains that celebrity stylists and handlers borrow from one another "to place themselves [and actresses] in the Hollywood hierarchy," choosing particular dresses to announce a transformation in a star's career, or even to set the tone for an era of fashion.

Monteiro has hand-picked some of the most iconic dresses in Oscar history — e.g., Grace Kelly's classic green gown, Lauren Hutton's 1975 Halston — and the frocks they would inspire years later. But a gown doesn't make the complete look: Though the differences between these styles may be subtle, one celebrity truly owns the look.

Salon.com > dresses

Red carpet fashion at the Oscars

A peek under Oscar’s skirt