Most directly was the fact that it seems nearly everyone was either wearing red or pastel nudes. Both commonly seen trends on the runways.
Jennifer Lawrence was very simple and sexy in her tomato red Calvin Klein number that I found refreshing in its clean silhouette that featured a natural body. It was like a celebration of woman. (Hear me roar!) Anne Hathaway and Sandra Bullock both wore more couture gowns by Valentino and Vera Wang respectively. All three very classy choices.
The nude and neutrals of the carpet were exceptionally sparkly. Particularly Michelle Williams in Chanel Couture. The NY Times panned the gown as a boring white Tshirt dress with white beading. However, this is consistent with William's style and I can fully appreciate it. Mandy Moore's Monique Lhuillier gown had an ethereal quality with an illusion neckline. Halle Berry's Marchesa was a standard style of dress but seemed light and pretty with almost sheer gatherings at the bottom. Halee Steinfeld was very age appropriate also in Marchesa. Harking back to Audrey Hepburn รก la Roman Holiday was a great choice and at ankle length, not a fashion follower.
The interesting detail about these looks is that the jewelry is minimal, since there is so much beading going on.
One of my favorites in the Red Carpet fashion pantheon is Cate Blanchett. She rarely disappoints and is always unique in her choices. Before Michelle Williams and Carey Mulligan, she was the original red carpet fashionista. This Givenchy Haute Couture was a wonderful piece of structured art. Mila Kunis found a winner with her lacy Elie Saab. A trendy choice in fabric and color. The only problem with lavender on the red carpet is that it's not an instant knock out in a photograph. Much the same was made about Christina Hendricks lavender choice at the Golden Globes two years ago.
Metallics and the futuristic has not gone away and was equally represented at the Oscars. Annette Bening was all smiles in a Tron-inspired gown by Naeem Khan. Gwyneth Paltrow scored rave reviews all around for her gold metallic column by Calvin Klein. She was her own personal Oscarette and accented it with embellished multi gem earrings and brooch.
One of Hathaway's outfit changes was a metallic tone fringed gown. Two trends in one! Three really if you count the beaded neckline. Speaking of combining trends, Penelope Cruz looked like a reincarnation of the Burning Bush fire special effect from The Ten Commandments with a red on red L'Wren Scott gown. This dress is a perfect example of not being photogenic. It seems that it must have been beautiful in person, just not through a paparazzo's lens.
Natalie Portman was lovely and nice in a plum Rodarte gown. Apparently there was some controversy with her choice of Rodarte as she is currently the face of Dior and some thought she should have been wearing Dior. In her defense, Rodarte designed the ballet costumes for Black Swan and because of technicalities, they were not nominated. Another note would be that John Galliano was just accused of making anti-Semitic remarks in Paris and has been suspended from his duties at Dior. So between the two "loyalties", Portman was in a lose lose situation when it comes to those critics.When I first saw Scarlett Johansson I thought she was a purple disaster. I'm still not in love with it but it's less of a mess now that I can see its detail. But the hair... What a hot mess. She's right up there with JLo's Barbarella bob in the Worst Hair of Oscar History list.
Amy Adams had a fashion hit with her deep blue glittered & capped gown. The emeralds were beautiful too, but I was not a fan of them together.
Honorable mentions:
Reese Witherspoon: Not a fan of the pony tail but looked great in a vintage style Armani Prive.
Helena Bonham Carter: Looking rather normal in an all black ensemble she collaborated on with Oscar winning costume designer Colleen Atwood. Does she keep that hair on a shelf for awards shows? It's like she kept it on since the Golden Globes.
Robert Downey Jr: Best suit of the night. Awesome navy color. Lined lapels. White on white shirt tie combo.Just cool.Interesting side note, wife Susan was wearing earrings of Angelina Jolie's design that looked just like the emerald ones Jolie wore two years ago.
Eh..not so much
Melissa Leo: A dress of eyelet by Marc Bower, which was thankfully overshadowed by her obnoxious F-bomb.
Jennifer Hudson: We love your body too. Now please let it breathe in that tangerine Versace.
Fashion wise the trends were there just not all properly combined. It was a fairly underwhelming Oscars to say the least. So all I can say is, Thank you Kirk Douglas.
