The best Oscars dresses ever
FashionYes, the Oscars are about film and talent and Hollywood, but to some of us they are also about the dresses. Ahead of the ceremony, the Guardian Fashion desk have picked their favourite Oscar dresses ever
The hits and misses of the 2015 red carpet – in pictures
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Cate Blanchett in Givenchy, 2011
When I think of someone killing it on the red carpet, this is the first dress I think of. Not because Cate looks hotter than anyone else ever has at the Oscars, but because she looks like Cate Blanchett at her most fabulous. And that, to me, is what the perfect dress should be about, because aiming for Most Beautiful is a fool’s errand. There are too many gorgeous people out there – never more so than at the Oscars – so the odds are always stacked against you; and anyway, pretty is never really the point. You should (on the red carpet, and when going to the pub) aim to be the most amazing, most individual, most dazzling version of you. And that’s where an amazing dress, one that suits you and no one else, comes in. Blanchett’s dress was classical and yet slightly futuristic at the same time; the colours cool and serene rather than cute and fluffy. It was perfectly her, and that made it perfect. Jess Cartner-Morley
Hilary Swank in Guy Laroche, 2005
Why is it a winner? Firstly, its midnight blue. Possibly my favourite colour. And secondly, I’m a big fan of its unassuming sexiness and simplicity. Swank doesn’t need a deep V neckline or a thigh-high slit to show what great shape she is in – she just lets the cut-out back do all the talking. Pretty fabulous. Melanie Wilkinson
Kim Basinger in a self-designed dress, 1990
Strictly – ie aesthetically – this outfit is abysmal. Not only does the fabric look cheap, but the silhouette suggests that Cinderella has strangled Prince Charming and made off with half of his jacket. It’s so awful that it comes as no surprise that Basinger designed it herself – and that’s what I love about it. As if anyone, in cynical 2015, would faff around sketching a dress that had appeared to them in a cheese dream when they could use the red carpet to pay allegiance to a fashion mega-brand. This monstrosity is a relic from a more innocent time. Hannah Marriott
Michelle Williams in Vera Wang, 2006
It’s so hard to look good in yellow, but even more challenging if the yellow is fluted and frilled. Factor in having to stand on a red carpet and it’s a recipe for disaster. And yet Williams, with her gamine crop and arresting lipstick, looks flawless. Helen Seamons
Lauren Hutton in 1980
Full disclosure: this image of Lauren Hutton killing in it gold shorts at the Oscars in 1980 has only been on my red carpet moodboard for about five minutes. It was the designer Michael Kors who brought it to my attention at New York Fashion Week. He was saying how he hoped that someone like Emma Stone would go off-piste in the style of Hutton. And as an antidote to a boring old gown, this takes some beating. Hutton looks fabulous, from the gold lamé by Zoran to the sheer tights to the cheeky grin. Bet she was the first to suggest tequila shots that night. Imogen Fox
Björk in Marjan Pejoski, 2001
Granted, it’s not the prettiest dress. Nor is it the Oscars’ most flamboyant. But Björk’s audacious, headline-grabbing, trend-evading swan dress by Marjan Pejoski is another example of the singer’s (conscious or otherwise) ability to forecast trends: Valentino rolled out a similar number in his spring/summer 2014 collection. Plus, after hours of watching the same old Hollywood glamour on the red carpet, it was a welcome relief to see Björk turn up, totally straight-faced, in this eyesore. Also: LOL when it laid an egg. Morwenna Ferrier
Grace Kelly in bespoke Edith Head, in 1955
The year is 1955, when Hollywood is at the height of its glamour. Grace Kelly attends the Oscars in an icy mint satin dress by costume designer Edith Head, accessorised with white gloves and yellow roses in her hair. At the time, it was said to be the most expensive Oscar gown ever made. Pair that with the roses she plucked from a display on the red carpet and she basically wrote the book on effortless chic. There is no one chic-er than Grace. HS
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