For Cody, diamonds are the soul of her shoe issues
The shoes fit — and cost $1 million — but Diablo Cody didn’t wear ’em.
Fancy-footwear designer Stuart Weitzman had selected the Oscar-nominated ‘‘Juno’’ screenwriter to wear his specially designed $1 million diamond-encrusted Retro Rose shoes on the red carpet, but Cody opted to wear a pair of simple gold flats under her flowing Dior leopard print dress instead.
‘‘It was a cheesy publicity stunt,’’ she saidon the red carpet.
'Project Oscars'? Tim Gunn worries about Meryl Streep
Tim Gunn hopes Meryl Streep can make it work on the red carpet.
The "Project Runway" mentor suggested Streep wear something more flattering than last year when the actress, who was nominated for her part as a cutthroat fashion editor in "The Devil Wears Prada," donned a long black dress and was infamously draped in chunky coral and turquoise jewelry.
"I worry about Meryl," Gunn said at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills. "She's so smart. She's so talented. I felt so bad for her last year at this event. I had the highest expectations for her because of the role she was nominated for."
Music’s heavy hitters turned out for the Grammy Awards’ 50th anniversary ceremony tonight in celebratory and respectful outfits. The fringe outfits were left to up-and-comers or those looking for some paparazzi shots.
Tom Cruise, others rab swag ahead of Grammys, Oscars
The swag grab has already begun. This report tells of special shopping sessions set up for Tom Cruise, Marion Cotillard, will.i.am and even Bono's wife — but it's not what you think: "You'd expect Bono's wife to be picking up a few free goodies herself, but instead Ali Hewson was there in an official capacity with her clothing label Edun. When asked about her famous husband, Ali joked 'I'm married to Sting, don't tell Trudie!' "
At Paris shows, fashion designers fret about Oscars
By JOELLE DIDERICH
PARIS — Luxury brands Christian Dior and Giorgio Armani kicked off Paris couture week Monday with glittering displays, but many of the outfits may not get an airing on the most prestigious night of the year: the Academy Awards.
A strike by writers, entering its 12th week, already has forced the cancellation of the Golden Globe awards, and could lead to the Oscar ceremony — scheduled for Feb. 24 — being scrapped for the first time in its 80-year history.
The loss would be more than symbolic for global fashion brands, which reap millions of dollars of free publicity from media coverage of celebrities walking the red carpet.
Sure, filmmakers are lamenting the loss of the Golden Globes, and fretting about the Oscars. But there's another group of workers really worried about the state of award shows this season: the fashion designers. Including this one in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Everyone guffawed when Chicago's Jennifer Hudson appeared on the red carpet wearing a perfectly fine brown Oscar de la Renta dress ... with a crumpled King Tut-meets-"Star Trek" bolero jacket on top. The New York Post's Page Six column reports on the power struggle between two designers that continued up to moments before Hudson was to hit the carpet. A more detailed report is posted at The Envelope, with one source dishing this hilarious account of the tug-of-war: "When Andre found out she was going to wear Cavalli, not Oscar, he totally queened out and started screaming about how he was responsible for getting Jennifer on the March cover of Vogue, how she owed him, and she had to wear the Oscar de la Renta or he would look like a fool." As we learned in "The Devil Wears Prada," it's always the fault of some horrid editor at Vogue.
The Sun-Times' red carpet fashion awards go to ...
By Maureen Jenkins
Staff Reporter
In a year filled with an amazingly diverse group of Academy Award nominees and films, it’s only fitting that looks spotted on the Kodak Theatre red carpet spanned the style gamut, as well. There were starlets in strapless gowns and beautifully bare necks; over-50 actresses in dramatically stunning flesh-tone gowns. And while we won’t call any names, there were those who would have done better to skip the oversized shoulder bows, cropped jackets and overdone dress jewelry and let their lovely gowns speak for themselves.
But here, a peek at those whose red carpet looks earned them four-star reviews tonight.
I watch the Oscars pre-show with friends on my sofa. It occurs to me again how hard it is to be a woman, every time my pal Maria Phelan, 28, says, "I hate that dress." ...
Joan Rivers' mink stole matches the red carpet. Classy!
Maggie Gyllenhaal arrived at 5:09 p.m. That's a little early for a star of her stature, yes? When you're in the next "Batman," you can arrive fashionably on time.
Melissa Rivers and Sarah Silverman: separated at birth?
Al Gore, being interviewed by Ryan Seacrest, is asked who would play him in the movie of his life. "William Hung," he responds. Funny! At least, it was funny three years ago!
Sponsorship update: The fashion camera on the TV Guide Channel is brought to you by Jell-O. The countdown clock is sponsored by M&Ms. And I guarantee you that no one at the ceremony tonight has ever, ever had any, not even the pastel ones.
Jennifer Hudson has arrived in a gorgeous gown, and ... a metallic shrug? Help. Can we please open up commentary to the general public? Because I'm struggling to stay positive here.
Hudson off to bad start with sci-fi gown accessory
Chicago nominee Jennifer Hudson, the favorite to win best supporting actress for her show-stopping role as Effie White in ‘‘Dreamgirls,’’ has started the big night on a sour note — thanks to her fahsion choice. The early buzz from the red carpet is astonishment at her metallic python bolero over a floor-length brown gown by Oscar de la Renta, picked out by Vogue’s Andre Leon Talley.
‘‘I love you, but there’s too much going on here,’’ said fashion critic and E! commentator Jay Manuel as he deconstructed the bolero jacket on television. (By the way, he was no where near Miss Hudson when he said that.)
Jennifer Hudson, we love you, but please ditch the "Star Trek: Next Generation" coat.
Beyonce, who is performing tonight, on Jennifer Hudson's chances: "I hope she wins. I hope Eddie wins." What about "Dreamgirls" getting dissed as best picture? "I can't complain. Eight nominations is not so shabby," she says. ...
At the Oscars, it's all about the bling. "It's all about the jewels," celeb Stylist Phillip Bloch told "Good Morning America Weekend Edition." "Now more than ever it's not just about the classic diamond. … People are more willing to take chances and do different things with jewelry … just to jazz it up."
And precisely for that reason — and, no doubt, because the film "Blood Diamond" got such a high profile this year — Amnesty International USA and Global Witness have asked artists and filmmakers to wear a red teardrop pin to raise awareness about conflict diamonds and their impact on child soldiers. Artists who will wear the pin at Sunday's Academy Awards ceremony include nominees Leonardo DiCaprio, Ryan Gosling and Djimon Hounsou. ...
Before we start dishing about what haunting and heinous outfits come parading down this year's red carpets, here's a quick look back at three great gowns from last year's Oscars. And then, there's — gulp — this little number presented this week in New York. C'mon, we dare you.
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Barbra Streisand. Cher. Elizabeth Taylor. Sharon Stone. Each made style history at the Academy Awards. Who can forget Streisand’s seemingly see-through sequined pantsuit at the 1969 Oscar show, or the certainly see-through sparkling creation Cher wore in 1988? How about Taylor’s 1970 periwinkle chiffon gown that matched her eyes, or the Gap T-shirt Stone built an outfit around in 1996?
These red-carpet contributions — and those of two dozen other stylish female stars — were recognized Tuesday at the film academy headquarters with ‘‘A Celebration of Oscar Fashion,’’ a retrospective of iconic Oscar wear. The private runway show, curated by Andre Leon Talley of Vogue magazine, was designed to inspire this year’s nominees and presenters to express their personal style and ‘‘create their own memorable moment’’ at the Oscars, said telecast producer Laura Ziskin. ...
PARIS — Paris couture may be reserved for a handful of wealthy clients, but Giorgio Armani on Wednesday gave the whole world a glimpse of his exclusive creations by becoming the first designer to broadcast an haute couture collection live on the Internet. ‘‘Now through the democracy of the Internet, we can provide a front row seat for everyone,’’ the 72-year-old Italian said in a statement.
The Armani Prive display capped a week of extravagant catwalk shows, signaling the start of a frenzied campaign by top fashion houses to dress Hollywood stars for the Oscars. ...
