All That Glitters Is Gold
Image Credit: Andra Day wearing custom Vera Wang on the Oscars 2021 Red Carpet
This years Academy Award ceremony made two things clear - women are taking over filmmaking and the best look at the Oscars is to dress like the award itself. Although, with the random and such unexpected rearrangement of the nights most notorious awards being presented before the sun went down that even the nominees were shocked, the actual broadcast felt like nothing short of a fever dream.
With only nominees, their guests, and presenters being invited - a less crowded red carpet made for this season’s most exciting fashion moments. Or more like this years. The Met Gala has been pushed to September and the other major award shows like the Golden Globes and Emmys may have given us a peak into nominees homes but nowhere have we gotten the excitement of a truly captivating red carpet moment. I mean viewers have been so fashion starved we had to turn to Jason Sudeikis and his tie dye hoodie for inspiration.
Leslie Odom Jr. wearing Brioni, Andra Day wearing custom Vera Wang, and Carey Mulligan in Valentino Haute Couture seemed to have a secret group chat where they all decided that dressing like an Oscar would mean they would have those tiny statues in their hands at the end of the night. Unfortunately that didn’t happen for them but they did manage to bring back glowy and glittery metallics in under 24 hours which is quite a feat in and of itself.
Carey Mulligan in Valentino Haute Couture
Leslie Odom Jr. in Brioni
This years ceremony was also, finally, a win for women in the film industry. Chloe Zhao became the second woman in history to win Best Director and the first of Asian descent for her film, Nomadland. The film also took home Best Picture, becoming the second Best Picture to be directed by a woman and the first by a woman of Asian descent.
Ma Rainey’s hairstylists, Mia Neal and Jamika Wilson, became the first Black women to win in the Hair/Makeup category. Emerald Fennell is the first women to win a screenwriting award since 2008. Youn Yuh-jung won Best Supporting Actress as the Mountain Dew-loving grandma in “Minari,” making her the first Korean actress to win at the Oscars.
With a total of 17 wins, women had a record and glass ceiling breaking night at the 2021 Academy Awards.
Chloe Zhao
Emerald Fennell
Mia Neal, Jamika Wilson, Sergio Lopez-Rivera
Youn Yuh-jung