A return to in-person awards meant a return to fashion form for many celebrities. Have we learned nothing from the past year?
The 93rd annual Academy Awards were a night of historic firsts: first woman of color to win the directing Oscar; first Black women to win the makeup and hairstyling Oscar; oldest woman ever to win an Oscar; first Korean actor to win an Oscar. But in at least one area it was more like same-old, same-old: the red carpet. The long walk to Union Station (and the Dolby Theater) may have been the first full-fledged in-person, maskless entrance-making parade since the pandemic began, but instead of a rebirth, it was a return to familiar marketing moment form, replete with big brands and the stars that love them. Or big stars and the brands that pay them? Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference. Indeed, aside from a subversive move toward comfort footwear on the part of Chloé Zhao, who wore white sneakers with her glinting knit Hermès dress, and Questlove, who paired his black ensemble with gold Crocs, it was almost like the last year of lockdowns, trauma and social justice had never happened. Or as if we hadn’t actually learned all the things that everybody said they were learning — at least when it came to image-making in all of its layers and dimensions. During the evening itself, there was palpably emotional personal and political speechmaking. But in the spotlit moments preceding the event, the meaning of the last many months was lacking. Instead there was… glamour! The dress code was “Inspirational and Aspirational,” and the theme of the evening was “Bring your movie love.” Combine those two ideas and what do you get? Fashion derived from the event itself. Both Carey Mulligan and Andra Day, best actress nominees, channeled the man of the night and dressed à la statuette, in gold: Ms. Mulligan in a gleaming Valentino bandeau and titanic skirt, and Ms. Day in asymmetric thigh-baring Vera Wang, like a cross between an Amazon and an Oscar with a little Raquel Welch thrown in. Leslie Odom Jr.
