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The long-shot nominee’s dress dilemma: play it safe or wow them while you can?
TH R identifies four fashion strategies to avoid the Oscar gown equivalent of ‘loser face’
By Jane CarlsonThe Subdued Subordinate Th e Va -Va -Vo o m
Also-ran nominees may opt for a more restrained look, such
as Manchester by the Sea’s Michelle Williams in a simple
Louis Vuitton halter dress or Isabelle Huppert’s long-sleeved
champagne Armani in 2017. Bronwyn Cosgrave, fashion and
Academy Awards historian and author, says a subdued choice
may be as much a vote for elegance as an aversion to a
fashion risk on a precarious night: “It’s a lot of pressure; you’ve
got the fortune of a fashion brand riding on your shoulders.”“For those names that aren’t [yet] on everybody’s lips, it could
be up to a bold color that everybody will notice,” says fashion
commentator Nick Verreos. Packing maximum visual punch and
baring not a little skin: Saoirse Ronan in a slinky Calvin Klein
in 2016 and Jennifer Lawrence, also in a body-skimming Calvin
Klein, albeit cherry-colored, in 2011. Lawrence followed up her
red glam-slam the next year with her first Dior contract (a deal that
was extended in 2014 for a rumored $15 million for three years).Michelle Williams in
Louis Vuitton in 2017Isabelle Huppert
in Armani in 2017Reese Witherspoon
in Tom Ford in 2015Viola Davis in
Vera Wang in 2012Saoirse Ronan in
Calvin Klein in 2016Jennifer Lawrence in
Calvin Klein in 2011