The Oscar ceremony has not always been such a luxurious and world-famous event as it is now. The award, conceived by the head of the American film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Louis Bart Mayer in 1929 to encourage filmmakers, was once a modest banquet. Moreover, Louis generally organized the first ceremony at his own expense.
The name “Oscar” sounded only at the sixth ceremony, and there are still several versions of where the name came from. Actress Bette Davis said she came up with the name because the statuette reminded her of her husband, Margaret Herrick’s secretary said she named the Oscar after her uncle, and society columnist Sidney Skolsky claimed he gave the statuette the nickname because he was tired of writing about faceless prize.
But, in any case, then celebrities were limited in their choice of outfits. Bound by contracts with film studios, they received outfits from costume designers, or chose them from an extensive cinematic wardrobe. No fantasy was allowed. There was not even a red carpet in the modern sense of the word. And there simply could not be unsuccessful images, because the appearance of the stars was strictly controlled.
Because of all these circumstances, photos of yesteryear usually depict stars on stage, or in the hall, already embracing the prize. And often dresses are difficult to see.
But as the years went on, the Oscars became the most famous, expensive and luxurious ceremony in the world. Outfits for him are created in advance, but even then embarrassment cannot be avoided. Sometimes celebrities find out at the last moment that someone will wear the same dress and the image has to be redone from scratch.
Successful outfits forever go down in history, and unsuccessful ones … also go down in history, but for a different reason.
Focus has collected the top 10 worst Oscar dresses in the history of the award.
Whoopi Goldberg (1993)
Whoopi Goldberg and her purple-green madness
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Photo: Getty Images
In 1993, Whoopi Goldberg was a mega-star, the second African-American woman in Oscar history to win the award. But she herself admitted that she missed with the outfit, choosing a purple outfit with embroidery and neon green lining. It was too bright, too extravagant and too flashy. But Whoopi was definitely remembered by everyone present.
Susan Sarandon (1996)
Susan Sarandon as an Oscar statuette
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Photo: Getty Images
At the Oscars in 1996, the actress arrived in a golden brown dress from Dolce & Gabbana. There were too many dresses, besides, it was too reminiscent of the Oscar statuette itself, the sunglasses did not fit into the image, but Susan could hide behind them from mocking looks.
Angelina Jolie (2000)
Angelina Jolie as a gothic princess
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Photo: Getty Images
Angelina Jolie was the star of gossip columns in the 2000s that discussed her scandalous affair with Billy Bob Thornton, her tattoos, her style, her fight with her father, and her relationship with her brother. So at the 72nd Academy Awards, where she received a statuette for the film Girl, Interrupted, Jolie expectedly made herself talk. The gothic image and extended black strands were clearly out of the picture. However, Angelina Jolie has always excited the public, she complemented the image with a scandalous kiss with her brother.
Kate Hudson (2001)
Worst dress from Stella McCartney to Kate Hudson
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Photo: Getty Images
Hudson was too busy with her Oscar nomination for her role in Almost Famous to worry about her outfit. But the dress from her friend Stella McCartney is still called “nightmare” and “fashion failure”. Everything was bad in it: from color to style. But Hudson is ironic that he will someday give the dress a second chance.
“To this day, this now vintage dress hangs in my wardrobe, but I swear that one day I will wear it again. But, Stella, I promise I will do a different hairstyle,” Hudson joked in a 2011 interview.
Jennifer Connelly (2002)
Jennifer Connelly and the most inexpressive red carpet look
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Photo: Getty Images
Actress Jennifer Connelly is famous for her original taste and roles in interesting projects. But her dull, featureless dress, which the actress chose for the ceremony in 2002, was terrible. In addition, it constantly slipped from the chest. To make things worse, Jennifer wrapped a scarf around her neck, making herself look like a sore throat. Even the “Oscar” for his role in “A Beautiful Mind” did not help to forget this fashionable failure.
Uma Thurman (2004)
Uma Thurman dressed as a Bavarian peasant
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Photo: Getty Images
Even a style icon like Uma Thurman has fashion flops. And there was one of them at the 76th Academy Awards. The outfit from Christian Lacroix was compared with the costume of a Bavarian peasant, the remnants of the outfit of a cheerful pirate, and the actress was compared with an operetta character. Uma herself admitted that the dress was strange, and called that exit on the red carpet “the most embarrassing experience.”
Charlize Theron (2010)
Charlize Theron in a dress with an uncomfortable accent on the chest
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Photo: Getty Images
Another style icon, Charlize Theron never seemed to make a fashion faux pas, but the Dior dress Charlize Theron wore to the 82nd ceremony in 2010 was too devious. It’s all about the rosebuds, which in the fashion house were hoisted onto the bodice. Yes, the accent was wrong. No one will remember what else was on Charlize, but everyone will remember how, against her will, her gaze was drawn to her chest.
Lady Gaga (2015)
Lady Gaga and her unforgettable red gloves
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Photo: Getty Images
A few years before she brought home her own statuette, Lady Gaga made her Oscar debut in a chic white Azzedine Alaia gown. The dress itself was beautiful, but Gaga, wanting to maintain her extravagant image, completed the look with red leather gloves, which ruined everything. This image has spawned countless memes.
Emma Stone (2019)
Emma Stone and her steak dress
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Photo: Getty Images
In 2019, Emma Stone was already an Oscar winner for her role in La La Land, but no one is safe from bad looks. Probably a Louis Vuitton dress embroidered with sequins looked spectacular when trying on, but on the red carpet, Emma Stone looked like a well-done steak.
Jada Pinkett Smith (2022)
Jada Pinkett Smith and her oversized dress
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Photo: Getty Images
The 2022 Oscars have been one of the most talked about. Will Smith slapped host Chris Rock on stage over a joke about his wife, actress Jada Pinkett Smith. And the dress from Gaultier turned out to be a fashionable failure. The miniature actress was literally buried under an abundance of folds and a fluffy skirt that seemed heavy and bulky.
We will remind, earlier Focus wrote about the most successful outfits of the ceremony “Oscar” in the history of the film award. Probably now many of them will seem funny, or too simple, but they have forever been inscribed in the history of the red carpet.
