Oscars 2016 Red Carpet Critique

Ah that time of the year has finally arrived, the 88th Academy Awards, the most prestigious event in the Hollywood calendar. Now, before I begin I must put out a disclaimer just in case you admire one of the celebrities and/or their attire and I do not. I am deeply sorry if I offend thee, now let us begin:

I think we shall start off with Rooney Mara who wore this darling gown by Givenchy. 'Have I seen it before?' Do I hear you mumble... YES, yes you have! I don't know what her game is but she definitely wears the exact same Givenchy dress to every single red-carpet appearance, it's the same cut and silhouette although maybe a different fabric. It is almost as if she's trying to embody a ghost bride. She actually exuded a positive emotion- a hint of a smile which is shocking because Rooney always looks like she feels pain.
Rooney, darling come on, you look divine darling but it's getting tiresome now... its a 7.9/10.

Olivia Wilde in this exquisite Valentino Couture has to be one of my best dressed of the night. Yes, yes we shall address the fact that she has actually brush contoured her breasts in a minute.
This dress, on the other hand, is truly sumptuous. Can we take a moment to appreciate those pleats- cut into perfectly proportioned pieces that add to the sheer ethereality factor.
Now shall we mention the torso? Hmm I think not. 9/10

I adore everything about Alicia Vikander. Her awards season style has been exceptional, not forgetting her simply outstanding performance in The Danish Girl. (which saw her take home best supporting actress)
We've really seen her red-carpet style evolve; as spokeswoman for Louis Vuitton it only seems wise that she has chosen some of the most extraordinary gowns created by Nicholas Ghersquiere at Vuitton.
I, however, feel like she has let herself down at the last hurdle with this buttercup yellow mullet dress. I do not like how Ghersquiere has transposed those futuristic embellishments used in last season's SS16 collections onto the gown and I feel like he could have cut the hem-line instead of ruching and folding it up into the interior body, because frankly it looks like those tacky duvets one purchases at Argos. 6/10

If I was the stylist who decided to put Heidi Klum in that, I would have fled for my life. It seems that Halloween has come early this year, however in the form of Disney meets My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding. I feel like someone must have told her that she can wear anything and pull it off...this though, uhuh. I can venture a guess how innocent Donatella Versace felt when Heidi suggested that she wanted to sever her couture creation and let her arm breathe.. it did not go down well. Who knows, perhaps Heidi suffers from extreme perspiration? Seems perfectly logical to me. 3.6/10

Cate Blanchett was undoubtedly my best dressed of the night. She wore this Armani Prive gown embellished with soft Swarovski pastel flowers. She epitomizes perfection on every single level. 10/10!

I was rather let down by Kate Winslet. I do not, and I repeat, do not like this dress! Essentially Ralph Lauren has made her a black bin bag or space latex, one could interpret this dress in a multitude of ways. It does nothing for her figure, it just looks frumpy- I'm afraid to say.
It seems there were many political campaigns at this year's Oscars, and I think Kate represented the BP oil spill campaign. Tragic..5/10

Julianne Moore looked immaculate in this Chanel Couture gown. Apparently Karl Lagerfeld and a 22 person strong team took 500 hours to create this dress and lordy has it paid off?! Layer on layer of black lace made up the main body of the gown, followed  by the X neckline encrusted in semi-precious stones. J'adore.. The only piece of criticism I have is with those O earrings, they just did not work. 9/7/10

Rachel McAdams tragically exemplified why women at these events cannot sit down. Why? Because they'll grease their gowns and that is what she's done here. However, I think in terms of it being Rachel McAdams she looks a firm 8/10. She has definitely come a long way:

Lady Gaga sneaking a cheeky jumpsuit in when everyone thought it was a ball gown. She looks darling, like a polished wishbone. Loving the normality of everything Gaga is trying to emulate at this current moment also. 8.4/10

Saoirse Ronan shows us how to slay the red carpet. She chose this angelic Calvin Klein Collection emerald green jewel-tone gown. Saoirse is the embodiment of the CK woman- muted colour palettes and a minimal yet restrained way of dressing 9.8/10

Last but not least we have Brie Larson, winner of the Best Actress categories throughout this entire award's season for her powerfully emotive performance as Joy in Room.
Her red-carpet style this season has been flawless. From the bejewelled Calvin Klein,  deconstructed Atelier Versace to this deep marine blue Gucci- she has chosen well.
This dress, surprisingly, is actually quite refined for the house of Gucci. With the appointing of new creative director Alessandro Michele, we have seen a vision we thought we would never see in Italian fashion- eclectic, androgynous, grannified, quirkly vintage and a suppressed profound luxuriousness.
I love this marine colour on Brie, it perfectly compliments her skin tone. I also admire how Michele has put subtle references from his collections into the gown, like those paper thin ruffles and the floral adorned belt. It's a 9.9/10 from me.

Please Note: I do not own any of these images, courtesy of Vogue.co.uk

Diversity In The Creative Industries

As the majority of you know, I have already shed light on the problem of racial diversity in the fashion industry, however now I feel like I should expand on some of the points raised and address the recent issues in not only the fashion industry but also the film industry as well.

It was only the other night when I was reading the latest issue of British Vogue that I came across the Valentino Spring/Summer 2016 campaign. I love how Valentino are trying to run away from the racial diversity problems they forced onto themselves last season, casting predominantly Caucasian models despite producing a collection solely ‘inspired by Africa’. They made use of entirely white models in cornrows and tribalized prints, showing an intense lack of respect towards the African communities and instead generalising their countries to fit in with Valentino’s seemingly profane aesthetic. And now for their campaign they have decided to shoot an array of white models in African-inspired garments whilst surrounded by a Kenyan tribe, what’s the logic behind that? I think it’s exceedingly important that brands should stop adopting a blind-eye to the issue in hand and start taking responsibility for the severe nature of this problem.

 

 

However, this is not all: a couple of years ago, London-born black model Jourdan Dunn spoke out about the racism she experienced when working backstage at some shows during fashion week. She said that she was turned away from model castings because the client didn't want 'anymore black models' and also she described the time when a white makeup artist said she didn't want to work on her face because she was black - this was not because of the makeup artist's lack of skills, it was a blatant example of racism. Despite working in an industry which we can now say is struggling to fight against diversity injustices, Jourdan Dunn is recognized as a pioneer or inspiration to the emerging models of colour to come into the industry like Malaika Firth and Neelam Gill, for example. Jourdan was the first black model to walk for Prada in over a decade and also featured on the cover of Vogue Italia's iconic All Black Issue shot by Steven Meisel. Now, she has joined forces with industry legends such as Naomi Campbell, Iman and Bethann Hardison (fashion activist) to campaign against the lack of balanced diversity in fashion and that is exactly what we need to propel this industry out of this hole.

                                                         

 

      Vogue Italia's All Black Issue- Naomi Campbell and Jourdan Dunn (Right and above)


In recent months, another issue relating to diversity has been made prominent, this time involving the film industry. It began when the Academy Award's nominations were released revealing that not a single black actor was nominated in any of the categories this year. Interestingly, in the history of the Oscars, only 31 out of more than 2900 Oscars awarded have gone to black winners. That's a staggering statistic!
The only year where black actors took dominance was 2013 when the Academy awarded 12 Years A Slave Best Picture with Lupita Nyong'o taking the statuette for Best Supporting Actress. However, since then we have seen a decrease in mixed background recognition and that's a shame.

Lupita Nyong'o at the Academy Awards 2013

As renowned fashion photographer Nick Knight once said, "To find a solution we need to see that there is a problem. The business people who ultimately control fashion (and art industries) have a moral responsibility that they must not ignore. Profit cannot be a justification for bigotry and racism." 
I think we must continue to encourage the use of minorities within the creative industries; this is the only way we will conquer the face of discrimination. So, it's my opinion that if we keep voicing our concerns and present an even-handed awareness of the issues, the industries will start taking drastic action and fight seriously this iniquitous injustice.

 

Please note: I do not own any of these images.