By Henry Walsh
Arts Reporter
Worst
- Rooney Mara
In a Givenchy dress, Mara was reaching for a Best-Dressed moment. Unfortunately for her, she had stiff competition throughout the night, with very few people actually looking bad in their red carpet ensembles. In fact, most of the people on the Worst list tonight have looks that could have been easily fixed had they chosen to edit.
Coco Chanel said it best, “Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take at least one thing off”.
Many of the fashion crimes here are due to a lack of editing, which pertains to Mara in only two small ways. Her sleeves are unnecessary, and her hair is styled very poorly. Otherwise, the main crime of this outfit is something that can’t be edited.
From the keyhole down, there is an unwise distribution of fabric, in such a way that the fabric from the keyhole to the slit looks unnecessarily long, which it would not had there been no slit. Alternatively, she could have gone with no keyhole and worn a dark-colored belt.
There is so much wasted potential in this look.
- Jared Leto
To be honest, most of this look isn’t that bad. Other than looking like he’s trying too hard, Leto hasn’t made that many mistakes.
Then we get to the tie.
Or more accurately, the flower.
In place of a tie, he’s put a carnation on his neck. This idea would work, maybe, if the carnation and the collar were complimenting a woman’s gown, but as is, the addition makes it feel awkward.
Another Best-Dressed-bait look, this too fails on accounts of it being pretentious, odd-looking, and wrong for a suit of that cut. If he had opted for a suit with a look that was less Christian Grey on steroids and more Oscar-winning actor/singer, he might have made the flower work.
Oh well, at least he doesn’t have Jesus hair anymore.
- Heidi Klum
Wearing a poofy, light purple gown with an oddly placed cutout, Klum embodies the unfortunately dressed ‘80s bridesmaid.
It looks like she took an already unfortunate-looking white nightgown, dyed some parts of it purple, and tore it up to make it look slightly more enticing. Had she committed to the trope she seemed to be embodying, lost the sleeve and worn crazy hair and makeup, she might have gotten a pass. But as it is, the dress looks like it was made by a drunk seamstress, and Heidi’s usual unusual combination of innocence and maturity is ironically heightened, but only in the bad ways.
Aside from the cutout, the dress seems like it was a fantasy of a five year old, but only a woman over 60 would wear it. This was a misstep for Miss Klum.
- Tom Hooper
Wearing an ill-fitting, frumpy-looking, aging tuxedo-ish suit thing, it’s not hard to see why Hooper’s outfit is here.
The director of The Danish Girl could and should have gone slightly more comedic, but his serious, mopey face and his frumpy, bad suit just made people not even want to comment on his fashion, just look at him with pity in their eyes and ask if he’s okay, offering condolences for something that didn’t happen.
- Jennifer Jason Leigh
Oh my god. Really?
This is ironically better at first look than most of the other stuff on the list, but when you look closer, it becomes more and more sad to see.
The color looks bad on her, somehow managing to associate a bright, happy pink with the word “drab”, and the weird, asymmetrical bunching in the chest area is very unflattering. The dress itself would look more fashionable if the chest had been brought up a little more, although Leigh was smart enough to pair a dress of this color with simple, silver jewelry. They distract from the look as a whole for a second, but then our attention is back on the mess.
The flowery detail could have been interesting, had it been expanded upon throughout more of the look. However, that didn’t happen.
An unforgivable top half and a disappointing bottom half make for a whole lot of fashion crime.
Best
- Kerry Washington
Washington uses black leather to great effect in this warrior woman ensemble. The black and white complement her skin tone very nicely, and her choice of both jewelry and pose indicate she was trying to emulate a sort of strong, heroic goddess.
Name brands work in her favor as well, especially with Atelier Versace.
- Sandy Powell
The Oscar-winning costume designer is the only non-actor name on the list, and boy did she earn it. In a look that could have been a disaster if one color had been wrong, or any mistakes had been made, she wore her own design on the red carpet.
Her silver and blue blazer and pants stand out not only for their unconventional print, but for the unconventional way in which the print was showcased.
Wearing her own design on the red carpet? Rarely ever done. And the fact that she made those two colors somehow not clash with her bright orange hair is a feat in itself.
- Lady Gaga
Her newly discovered single-color aesthetic shining through once again, Gaga glistens in this Brandon Maxwell jumpsuit.
From the back, it looks like just another stunning white gown. In the front, it just becomes a shining example of Oscars fashion. We can tell that the dress was custom made for her, and that every little detail was looked at so that the dress could be perfect.
Luckily for them, it absolutely was.
- Charlize Theron
Plunging necklines never seem to go out of style.
Going for a much different look than her Mad Max character, Theron stuns in a blood red Christian Dior gown, with an insanely low neckline that nicely compliments the straps of the dress.
Keeping it otherwise simple with just silver earrings and a silver necklace, she demonstrates a sophistication and glamour that almost makes you forget that she was nominated for Mad Max.
- Priyanka Chopra
In a stunning fashion moment, well-timed for the return of her TV show Quantico, the actress turned heads in a sheer, intriguing white dress.
Chopra has had many appearances of best-dressed lists all over the world, and she makes her presence known to the movie buffs with this eye catching gown. A cleverly placed floral pattern gives this dress a moment of its own.
Cleverly, Chopra decided to keep it simple beyond the dress itself. Her accessories included a clutch and small earrings, which added to the appeal of the dress.
As part of a whole ensemble it would fall flat, but on its own it gets to shine brilliantly.
