The 84th Annual Academy Awards were last night, and I’m surprised to report that Natalie Portman was the only actress who wore vintage: she looked stunning in a 1954 red Dior gown. But even though I was disappointed that there weren’t more vintage looks on the red carpet, I was pleasantly surprised to see that sustainable clothing seems to be getting more attention.
Meryl Streep wore a gold Lanvin gown made from eco-certified fabric, Colin Firth (deliberately) “recycled” his tux from last year, and Kenneth Branagh, John Krasinski, Djimon Hounsou, and Demián Bichir all wore Zegna, who design patterns that reduce fabric waste and recycle scrap material into new textiles. And Missi Pyle from The Artist wore an eco-conscious gown by Valentina Delfino, winner of the “Red Carpet Green Dress” design contest, an initiative by Suzy Amis Cameron (James Cameron’s wife) to promote sustainable clothing on the red carpet.
(I have many questions about the money spent, the energy used and the pollution caused by the manufacture of “eco-friendly” gowns that apparently take “weeks” to make, but I’ll reserve judgment until I can do more research. Of course, I applaud the use of organic and recycled fabrics, and support companies that use “green” methods in manufacturing, but vintage is really the best way to go if you care about the environment.)
Although encouraged by the attention that sustainable clothing has been getting on the red carpet, I miss seeing top stars like Reese Witherspoon, Marisa Tomei, Julia Roberts, Demi Moore, Penelope Cruz and Renee Zellweger proudly wearing vintage to important events. As a matter of fact, I have a theory…which I hope to back up statistically at some point…that wearing vintage seems to bring good luck: nominees who wear vintage consistently win. Congrats to Meryl for wearing a sustainable gown and for winning her third Oscar!
I was also surprised that Natalie was the only one wear vintage couture! I was hoping for more 50′s era gowns, as the style is so now. I liked the focus of your post because it truly matters! I had a list of vintage gowns I also blogged about before the Oscars that would have be great contenders- some Dior -so thank goodness for Natalie! I will have to stop by your store when I’m in Chelsea, thanks again for the post!