Known for his bright colour combinations, full skirts and beautiful embellishment, Oscar de la Renta’s romantic and ladylike designs, regularly worn by socialites and starlets, captivated all our imaginations.
My favourite Oscar de la Renta moment? Carrie Bradshaw at MacDonalds…
“Oscar de La Renta sleeveless silk, full-skirted dress with black patent-leather bow belt… Now THAT is pure poetry.”
This month there are three (great and powerful) women’s names on the tip of Tinseltown's tongue –Michelle Williams, Rachel Wiesz and Mila Kunis; the leading ladies of ‘Oz the Great and Powerful.’
Above: At London’s European premiere of the movie, the red carpet was exchanged for yellow bricks with the actresses shining in their beautiful dress choices… Rachel Weisz looked every inch a classic Hollywood star in a champagne laceMichael Kors strapless gown, Mila Kunis wore a slate grey Alexander McQueen SS’13 ruffle tiered dress (my least favourite of the three as it slightly drowned her small frame, but she still managed to look gorgeous and hold her own) and the ever quirky Michelle Williams (a red carpet favourite of mine) in a peacock blue Burberry feathered cocktail dress from their SS’13 collection - cute.
I must say however, I thought the outfits these actresses conjured up for the Los Angeles premiere of the film were even better - which lady do you think won in the style stakes?
Above: Rachel Weisz looked HOT in this bright orange, floor-sweeping gown by Victoria Beckham with signature exposed VB zip. Rachel let the dress do all the talking, opting for zero accessories and scraping her glossy locks into a chic bun. Bond Girl Perfection!
Above: Mila Kunis looked adorable in a Dolce & Gabanna embroidered dress with peep-toe Louboutins, a Bottega clutch bag and STUNNING ruby drop Sutra earrings.
Above: Michelle Williams looking oh-so-demure from the front in a pretty, floral Prada gown but not-so-demure from the side, with a waist-high slit revealing her black pants! Absolutely magical, and as unique as ever. My cute-as-a-button winner.
'The Great and Powerful Oz' is out in cinemas now...
A leather-clad Beyonce brilliantly strutted her stuff last weekend, in what was the most amazing halftime show in Super Bowl history! In 12 high-octane minutes, Beyonce managed to not only belt out a several of her own songs, including ‘Baby Boy,’ ‘Halo,’ and ‘Crazy In Love,’ but also host a mini Destiny’s Child reunion with Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, which was, as expected, A.W.E.S.O.M.E.
Aware of what an honour this opportunity was, Beyonce said, “I'm trying to learn to live every moment, because these moments are not promised to us," she said. "I've had a 16-year career, and all of the things that I've done have prepared me for this. ... I'm ready."
My favourite look from this year’s Oscars was undoubtedly Gwyneth Paltrow in Tom Ford. Despite Angelina’s left leg trying its best to pull focus, Gwyneth was stunningly statuesque in a white column gown with matching cape. With natural make up and a soft, relaxed ponytail (an unusual red-carpet trend at this year’s awards) Gwyneth looked breathtakingly fresh, modern and elegant amongst the annual swarm of frills and fluff.
Gwyneth revealed, “I saw a pic of Jackie O in a white dress with a cape and it's been a while since anyone's worn a cape, frankly, except for Superman." The picture she described (left) was of Jackie O in the cream chiffon gown and sweeping cape she designed herself and wore to the inaugural ball in 1961.
Coming a close second to Gwyneth was Oscar nominated Michelle Williams (below) always a red carpet favourite of mine, wearing a pomegranate-coral coloured peplum gown by Louis Vuitton. I loved her clashing pink clutch bag, bright pink lips and the adorable diamante bow brooch attached to her waist.
A special style mention should go to Natalie Portman (far left) the picture of timeless elegance, who chose to wear a 1954 Christian Dior vintage couture polka dot gown despite having her choice of every new dress off the runway. Also, the Oscar nominated Rooney Mara (left) who wore a unique, backless Givenchy structured dress with origami folds and lace details – the white gown along with her porcelain skin, deep red lips and blunt, raven hair created a startlingly striking look on the red carpet.
Right: Cameron Diaz, who rarely ever puts a foot (or Choo) wrong on the red carpet in my opinion, shone in both her contrasting dresses on the big night; a beautiful and shimmering, pale pink Gucci dress for the awards, followed by a dazzlingly bright orange dress by Victoria Beckham for the Vanity Fair party.
I love the Golden Globes…
As Ricky Gervais observed in his opening gambit this weekend, they are to The Oscars what Kim Kardashian is to Kate Middleton, “a bit louder, a bit trashier, a bit drunker.”
One BIG similarity with the two award ceremonies however, is their focus on the dresses…
Here are my favourites of the night...
Below (L-R): Jessica Alba is always impeccably perfect - in Gucci, Emma Stone is my red carpet crush - in Lanvin, Charlize Theron looks completely dreeeeamy in Dior - the winner.
Below (L-R): Angelina Jolie’s flashes of red in Atelier Versace, Michelle Williams is always unique - in Jason Wu, Rachel Evan Wood dramatically ruffling feathers in Gucci Première.
Below: I am sorry Ladies, but I just was not a big fan of your choices…
(L-R) Elle MacPherson - TuTu much In Zac Posen, Lea Michele is a bit too ‘flashy,’ in Marchesa, Sarah Michelle Gellar – Spilt. Paint. Everywheeere. In Monique Lhuillier.
Below (L-R): Charlize Theron and Michelle Williams both decided to wear delicate headbands – I feel a new red carpet trend for 2012 may have just begun…
I have been left excited to see award winning film, ‘The Artist,' a romantic French film directed by Michel Hazanavicius, starring Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo.
The story takes place in Hollywood between 1927 and 1932 and focuses on a declining male film star and a rising actress, as silent cinema grows out of fashion and is replaced by the ‘talkies.’ Most of the film itself is silent; it is shown in black-and-white, and Jean Dujardin also won the Best Actor Award this weekend at the Golden Globes.
In the early summer of 1956, 23 year-old Colin Clark, a movie enthusiast worked as an assistant on the set of 'The Prince and the Showgirl', the film that famously, and turbulently, united Sir Laurence Olivier and Marilyn Monroe. Olivier had hoped this collaboration would help him become a Hollywood movie star, and Marilyn hoped to become taken seriously as an actress.
An insight into a vanished era of filmmaking and the clash that ensued between the two actors was well documented nearly 40 years later in Colin’s diary account, ‘The Prince, the Showgirl and Me,’ but its author purposefully omitted one week’s production... This missing chapter was eventually published some years later as ‘My Week with Marilyn,’ and this film chronicles Colin's life changing week and near affair with the star.
Released on November 25th, the film stars Eddie Redmayne, Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench, Julia Ormond and Emma Watson - but its main attraction is undeniably Michelle Williams, who according to Vogue ‘brings Monroe to life with heartbreaking delicacy and precision without resorting to impersonation or cliché.’
Below: The trailer for 'My Week with Marilyn'
Michelle spent six months immersing herself in all things Marilyn Monroe; reading biographies, diaries, letters, poems, and notes, studying photographs, listening to recordings and watching her movies. Michelle also trained hard to transform her usually gamine body to achieve that infamous Marilyn wiggle...
Below: The original trailer for 'The Prince and The Showgirl'
Annie Leibovitz shot a stunning set of Marilyn Monroe inspired photographs of Oscar-nominee Michelle Williams for the October issue of US Vogue.
Styled by Tonne Goodman, Michelle wore a retro wardrobe from Donna Karan, Michael Kors, Ralph Lauren and J. Crew.
The actress revealed, “as soon as I finished the script, I knew that I wanted to do it, and then I spent six months trying to talk myself out of it... But I always knew that I never really had a choice... I’ve started to believe that you get the piece of material that you were ready for.”
“I wish that I could play her for the rest of my life...”
