By LEANNE ITALY
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-oscars-entertainment-business-lifestyle-fcc066744632ebbccf87d352944f127d
NEW YORK (AP) — Jessica Chastain walked the Oscars red carpet in a glittery purple and copper gown while 15-year-old Saniyya Sidney twirled and beamed in a flower-adorned princess look and her ‘King Richard’ actress Demi Singleton lit up in soft purple sunday.
Chastain’s Gucci ombre look included a ruffled hemline. The color of her hair, in a high ponytail, matched the polished bodice of her dress perfectly. Nicole Kidman snogged with husband Keith Urban in a muted teal Armani Prive strapless column dress with a ruffle waist and train.
“They actually made that dress in that color,” Kidman told E!. “I thought I really wanted to wear blue. I love the color.”
Nominee Kristen Stewart, her platinum blonde hair slicked to one side, quickly posed for the cameras in tiny black rock star shorts by Chanel. The buttons of her white top opened up to her belly button. Penelope Cruise in Chanel opted for black in a classic silhouette with a sparkling bow at the neck.
“Instead of a parade of the usual suspects wearing variations on the same theme, the red carpet was full of individualism, personal style and a sense of play,” said fashion director Zoey Washington, who works with a number of luxury brands.
“It was nothing short of refreshing to see young Hollywood bring a touch of whimsy, from Kristen Stewart’s custom Chanel and Zendaya’s bare midriff to Lupita Nyong’o’s kinetic gold Prada that made her look like a living Oscar,” she said .
Sidney wore a light blue strapless dress by Armani Prive as one of the early arrivals to the 94th Academy Awards. It wasn’t her first Oscars. She took part in “Fences” and “Hidden Figures” at the age of 10. Singleton portrayed Serena Williams in Sydney’s Venus.
As the film industry’s glamorous return to the Dolby Theater unfolded, a touch of the real world seeped in.
Jamie Lee Curtis wore a band as a ring in Ukrainian blue dressed in a midnight blue look by Stella McCartney. Nicholas Britell, nominated for his Don’t Look Up score, wore a blue lapel ribbon in support of Ukraine, and Diane Warren, in an emerald green tuxedo, wore his own blue lapel ribbon on behalf of the Ukrainian refugees. Others also wore Ukrainian blue ribbons.
Presenter Lily James, on the other hand, wore Versace in baby pink with a high side slit and Piaget jewels as she posed for selfies with a few fans on the red carpet. Soft pastels like her outfit mixed with metallic looks (Lupita Nyong’o in gold Prada) and black statements (Billie Eilish in a huge, tiered, bespoke Gucci dress) in a year still reeling from the pandemic and the horrors of the had to fight in the Russian war in Ukraine.
The Reds took it on in the trend department.
Fashion icon Tracee Ellis Ross chose Carolina Herrera: a bright, strapless red tea-length dress with a daring bodice and choker with a diamond. Rosie Perez wore a classic Hollywood Christian Siriano dress in red with a dainty cape. Drive My Car’s Sonia Yuan, CODA’s Marlee Matlin and West Side Story’s Ariana DeBose also chose bright red, DeBose in pants and a crop top. Kirsten Dunst also got the red memo.
Aunjanue Ellis, in a more subtle red, had “Jack’s Baby” sewn into her dress by Donatella Versace.
For men, fashion lover and “The Power of the Dog” nominee Kodi Smit-McPhee chose a tone-on-tone baby blue suit by Bottega Veneta, a choker with 18-carat Cartier diamonds draped over his collar (no tie). dress shirt. He showed off his Cartier watch, the face of which was adorned with cascading diamonds.
“I’ll miss that when it’s not on my wrist,” he joked.
Erik Maza, Executive Style Director of Town & Country magazine, praised Smit-McPhee’s fashion risks.
“He walked away with the title of Timothée Chalamet as this season’s best-dressed young actor,” Maza told The Associated Press.
Side note: Chalamet was shirtless and wearing a black Louis Vuitton sequined fringed cropped jacket.
Wesley Snipes wore a dark purple cropped suit. Sebastian Yatra, who was chosen for the performance, wore a pink Moschino tuxedo and tailcoat designed by Jeremy Scott. He wore diamonds from Cartier. Jason Momoa, a presenter, kept cool with a long braid tied with a small pink hair tie. He wore a black Henry Poole suit as he towered over the rest of the red carpet.
Naomi Scott was completely covered in an edgy high-necked deep purple look. Anna Dzieduszycka from the nominated short The Dress wore an emerald green dress with feather detailing. Jada Pinkett Smith also opted for green, a deeper shade with a huge ruched train designed by Glenn Martens for Gaultier.
Jewels made the statement for some. Vanessa Hudgens, in a black sequined bodycon dress, had more than 23 carats of Bulgari emeralds around her neck.
Licorice Pizza star Alana Haim and her sisters wore custom Louis Vuittons in a scallop design. Haim posed for a photo with Denis Villeneuve.
“It’s for the Hanukkah card,” Haim said.
Much skin, color, and jewelry took up the night.
“The unofficial theme of the evening was more is more, with bold colors, over-the-top glamor and statement details dominating the red carpet,” said Irina Grechko, fashion director for Refinery29.com’s millennial-focused style site. site. “It’s nice to see celebrities embrace color after playing it safe with neutrals for far too long.”
Given the news climate, it wasn’t surprising that some attendees kept it low-key and low-wattage black.
“I’m particularly proud of Rita Moreno’s look tonight because it was the first time she wore her Adrienne Landau hat for the cover story I wrote for Town & Country’s March issue,” Maza said. “The first Latina to win an Academy Award for acting honored her legacy with a dress that bore the name of another Latina OG, Carolina Herrera. Has 90 ever looked this good?”
Maza also praised James’ Atelier Versace look in powder pink and Chastain’s Gucci dress, “which exuded her confidence at the ceremony.”
Andrea Lavinthal, Style and Beauty Director for People, was a fan of Zendaya’s two-piece beaded silver Valentino skirt paired with a white button reminiscent of Sharon Stone’s long skirt and white cap shirt at the 1996 Oscars.
“It’s very young and very modern, but also Oscar-worthy,” she said. “It was a real showstopper. There was a lot of really daring fashion. You don’t normally see that much skin and risk at the Oscars.”
Lavinthal noted that the hottest topics on social media when it came to Oscars fashion were Stewart and Chalamet.
“If you want to do short films at the Oscars, it has to be Chanel,” she said. “It’s not for everyone, but it’s very much hers. People love both or not both.”
Melissa Rivers, a red carpet veteran and co-creator of the old “Fashion Police” with her late mother Joan, wasn’t a fan.
“It’s the Oscars. It’s like going to your grandparents’ house, who are rich, and you’re not sure if you’re in the will yet,” she joked. “It’s just stop it. We know who you are, but these are the Oscars.”
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Associated Press writers Lindsey Bahr and Brooke Lefferts contributed to this story.
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For more information on AP’s Oscars coverage, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/academy-awards