Young Hollywood takes on Old Hollywood glamour
March 8, 2006 | 12:00am
At the 78th annual Academy Awards, Young Hollywood got its first major chance to do Old Hollywood-style glamour. How did they fare trying to fill the high heels and wingtips of those golden-age screen icons?
A few did fabulously their first time around, like acting nominees Michelle Williams and Keira Knightley.
But other than Helena Bonham Carter’s eccentric getup, few were bold fashion adventuresses. Red-carpet regulars like Nicole Kidman, in embroidered ivory Balenciaga, barely stood out in a sea of safe, albeit glamorous gowns. When the riskiest thing about this year’s Oscars was host Jon Stewart’s humor or Crash’s big upset as Best Picture, it was enough to make anyone nostalgic for Cher’s Vegas-showgirl headgear or Bjork’s notorious swan dress.
"Bjork couldn’t be here tonight," joked Stewart, who probably felt the same way. "She was trying on her Oscar dress and Dick Cheney shot her."
Here, a list of those who looked pretty fab and those whose gowns may not have been outright disasters (too bad), but who came off as pretty drab:
• Keira Knightley. Knightley also scored big with Vera Wang, whose dresses were elegant yet kept an air of youthfulness. The Pride and Prejudice star walked the red carpet like a pro in a structured, wine-colored taffeta number that would have looked like a glorified prom gown on anyone else. The Best Actress nominee kept it young by pulling her hair into a loose ponytail, and kept it interesting by accessorizing with a 1960s emerald, ruby and diamond necklace pulled from the Bulgari archives.
• Jessica Alba was another ingenue who got it right. The Latina looker, who thought nothing of refreshing her lip gloss in public, set male hearts aflutter with her poured-on gold Versace halter gown with lace front and gold clasp at the nape, which bared the ladybug tattoo she got as a "bonding thing" with her mom and aunt. Decorating her left hand were double rings from H. Stern.
It was ironic that Alba chose a nude-colored gown, considering she’s suing Playboy for putting her on its cover – or maybe it wasn’t. Whatever the case, she was at the forefront of a Nude Wave that included Uma Thurman in goddess-like Versace, Jennifer Garner in goddess-like Michael Kors and Jane Seymour in goddess-like Pamela Rolland.
• Felicity Huffman. The Transamerica star, on the other hand, heralded the other big trend of the evening: black. But hers wasn’t just any black, it was a sexy, slit-down-to-her-waist Zac Posen that elicited gasps from the crowd. "Out of a gazillion dresses, this was one of the last I tried on," she said, proving that persistence does indeed pay off.
Other notables in black included Ziyi Zhang in Giorgio Armani’s scalloped lace bustier with jet beading and Swarovski-encrusted full crinoline skirt, Jennifer Aniston in a simple Rochas with Bulgari chains, and Hilary Swank in minimal strapless Versace.
• Jennifer Lopez. Though some critics thought the dress overdosed on ruching, I thought J. Lo pulled off this sap-green vintage gown from Lily et Cie quite nicely. Her rich hue also looked current amid other jewel tones worn by Salma Hayek (teal-blue Versace), and Jada Pinkett-Smith (electric-blue Roberto Cavalli).
Among the women, other trends included romantic, wavy updos and lots of half-up, half-down coifs. Makeup was bridal-radiant, with lightly smoked eyes and, in Michelle Williams’ case, classic red lips. Jewelry was kept to a tasteful minimum, with diamond-drop earrings and statement necklaces, but rarely did you see complete sets of bling.
• Sandra Bullock. Her Angel Sanchez with pockets was long on practicality but short on glamour. People were also speculating she was pregnant because of the loose empire fit.
• Charlize Theron. The Dior muse relied on John Galliano yet again, but this time he let her down with a crisscross forest-green dress with huge bow on one shoulder. Or was it a bow? It looked like table-napkin origami, or maybe it was a built-in pillow Charlize put there so she could nap during the four-hour-long snooze – I mean, awards – fest.
• Naomi Watts. With her one-shoulder Givenchy frothing tattered chiffon, King Kong’s lady love looked like a big ape had just ripped her bodice to shreds.
• Helena Bonham Carter. If her off-the-shoulder, steel-blue satin ’40s dress with asymmetric hem wasn’t odd enough, the weird bubble hair was the capper. But hey, what did you expect? She is Tim Burton’s wife, after all.
Burton himself was in full quirky glory, with red shirt and black tie dotted with skulls and crossbones. "It took us three minutes – no, two minutes – to get ready," admitted Bonham Carter, and, sadly, the couple definitely looked it.
The men had it easier because they could play it safe, and they did, with most going classic with traditional tuxedos. But this year, classic bowties looked fresh and appealing on Young Hollywood’s hunks, like Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Matt Dillon, Joaquin Phoenix, Keanu Reeves, and young-at-heart George Clooney.
To add a dash of flash, some, like Terrence Howard, accessorized with lapel pins and brooches. Others opted for long ties and colored shirts, like Jamie Foxx and Best Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman. A few eschewed tradition altogether, like Morgan Freeman and Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, in velvet Armani. Many sported cool accessories like tinted shades and sexy facial hair.
But no one looked more appropriate than the makers of March of the Penguins, who were not only clad in "penguin" attire but also brought along stuffed toy versions of their waddly Emperor pals.
Nick Park and Steve Box, makers of Best Animated Feature Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit even brought accessories for their Oscars: tiny rainbow-striped bowties to match their own.
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