What will the stars be wearing?

2001-03-20 10:17

Sarah Tippit

Hollywood - Never before have so many tried to dress so few so fabulously: more designers have set up more mini-boutiques in more posh hotel suites to court stars to wear their original creations at this year's Oscars than ever before in the history of Hollywood's highest honours.

Some designers have even skipped showing fall collections in Paris and New York City to set up shop in Hollywood and Beverly Hills mansions in recent weeks where they are enticing stars to come by, try on and hopefully wear their original creations. Oh and by the way, take home a bag full of gratis beauty products, and we know someone who can do your eyebrows.

But with all the hype and the hard sell, this town that loves to gossip is keeping its secrets with Sunday's Oscars just days away. What this year's "It" girl, Julia Roberts, nominated for best actress in "Erin Brockovich", will wear to the 73rd Academy Awards is as big an Oscar mystery as who will win best picture.

While every top designer in town has created a gown with her in mind, the pressure is on for Roberts to find one that expresses her style in a way that appeals to the whole world: because the whole world will be watching what she is wearing.

The Academy Awards - which began as a small year-end fete to celebrate the local industry's best work - has grown into a major fashion showcase. "The one thing that everybody remembers the next morning is how fabulous or how hideous or how boring everybody looked," fashion king Bob Mackie says in "Star Style at the Academy Awards", a book by stylist Patty Fox.

Pretty woman

Unlike past years when actresses relied on stylists to pull together a look for them, Roberts - like several of her fellow Oscar hopefuls - has chosen to deal directly with designers, avoiding the middlemen lest they steer her wrong or leak the information to the press.

This year's top crop of nominees seem to be looking for highly individualised sketchbook looks rather than following beauty trends, said stylist Phillip Bloch, adding: "A lot of stars are working on their own this year."

In past years, stylists were influential in introducing designers to publicists and celebrities. Now there's so much hullabaloo over Oscar dressing, I think publicists fear stylists will talk and they want to keep it under wraps. Designers don't care whether it's a stylist or a publicist or a star they are dealing with. They just want their dress on the celebrity.

And if they can't get their dress on the celebrity, they will offer a gown to the TV journalists who will appear on the Red Carpet. And if they can't dress anyone on the Red Carpet they will try to aim to dress people for pre- and post-Oscar parties in hopes their creations will make the Oscars next year.

In the past few weeks, couture creators like Versace, Armani, Calvin Klein, Prada, Pamela Denis, Carolina Herrera flew into town along with jewellers, seamstresses, hairdressers to aggressively court the stars with the promise of gratis outfits costing $100 000 or more including microscopic $80 000 gowns, $300 haircuts, $500 000 diamond bracelets and solid gold aviator frame sunglasses.

Hair today, gone tomorrow

Meanwhile, many of the world's top hair, makeup and accessory designers have hit town as well, and, like the fashionistas, have holed up in posh hotels to offer free samples, products, styling and fashion tips.

The price for all of this temporary madness is difficult to estimate. But fashion watchers say brands such as Hush Puppies, Ray Ban, Kate Spade, Jimmy Choo, Victoria's Secret, Vidal Sassoon, Bobbie Brown and others are spending as much to be in Hollywood during Oscar season and possibly court stars to wear their products as they would on a major ad campaign.

Despite all the hype, it is expected that Roberts, who normally sticks to tailored, classic, pared down looks by the likes of Vivienne Tam and Calvin Klein, will probably stay true to form in a simple dark gown with little embellishment.

As for general style trends, observers say 2001 may be the last year of over-the-top Oscar style for several years due to the sluggish economy.

The signs are already there: ornamentation in the form of crystal beads and embroidery are less prominent in gowns this year, which themselves are in elegant, but pared-down shapes with emphasis on a bare shoulders and backs.

While this year's Grammys awards became a platform for some of the most outrageous and barely-there celebrity dressing - think Jennifer Lopez's Versace dress from last year's awards, for instance - the Oscars will likely feature more refinement and fewer sheer or Band Aid looks. In other words, the same stars who would dare to wear pasties to the Grammies might be inclined to choose a ball gown for the Oscars.

Vintage influences may also appear in this year's Oscar fashions. Several actresses favour pure antique clothing while other actresses may gravitate toward revivals of old styles or vintage gowns re-sewn into modern designs.

Harry Winston, who provides so many of the diamonds for the Oscars, has unveiled a large collection of vintage inspired necklaces, earrings, brooches and bracelets and Jimmy Choo of Beverly Hills offers vintage-inspired shoes.

Oscar hair will be polished and groomed but in a whimsical style and makeup-wise, women's eyes will likely be smoky with glossy or bright red lips. Must-have accessories this year will include aviator sunglass frames, evening bags, and, of all things, breath mints which are being handed out to all the stars from the likes of Victoria's Secret, Hint Mints, and handbag designer Kate Spade.

- Reuters