Hillary Swank made heads turn in her midnight blue Guy Laroche in 2005
New Delhi:
Each Oscar year, 'who will win Best Actress' is a question almost immediately followed by 'what will she wear to claim her Oscar.' In the 85 years that Oscars have been handed out, Best Actress dresses have oscillated from sublime - Hilary Swank's midnight blue Guy Laroche in 2005 - to horrific - Cher's sheer black Bob Mackie in 1988.
Image courtesy: mediarun
Now, UK digital agency MediaRun has created a ready reckoner illustration in which you can see every dress worn by Best Actresses over the years. The very first outfit was a ready-bought jacket and skirt worn by Janet Gaynor, winner for her performances in three films, in 1929.
Notable dresses include the Irene dress Vivien Leigh wore to collect her Gone With The Wind Oscar in 1940; the Givenchy worn by Audrey Hepburn when she won for Roman Holiday in 1954; Grace Kelly's pale blue Edith head dress which she wore in 1955 when she won for The Country Girl; Gwyneth Paltrow's pink Lauren in 1999, the year of her Shakespeare In Love win; the Elie Saab Halle Berry wore to collect her Monster's Ball Oscar in 2002; and Jennifer Lawrence's pale Dior dress from last, when she took the honours for Silver Linings Playbook.
16 dresses are missing from the graphic - unworn by the 12 actresses who didn't show up to collect their Oscars. Katharine Hepburn, who holds an Oscar record with four Best Actress wins, was AWOL each time. Glenda Jackson did not show twice, when she won for Women In Love and A Touch Of Class. In 1935, It Happened One Night actress Claudette Colbert was so certain she wouldn't win that she was sitting on a train when the awards were being handed out. The MIA list also includes Sophia Loren, Ingrid Bergman, Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Crawford, Maggie Smith, Ellen Burstyn, Anna Magnani, Patricia Neal and Anne Bancroft.
Fashion houses also have Oscar records, of sorts. Armani has three Best Actress wins - worn by Jessica Tandy for Driving Miss Daisy in 1990, Jodie Foster for The Silence Of The Lambs in 1992 and Emma Thompson for Howard's End in 1993. Four designers have two wins each: Dior - Reese Witherspoon for Walk The Line in 2006 and Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook in 2013; Yves Saint Laurent - Jane Fonda for Klute in 1972 and Kate Winslet for The Reader in 2009; Jean Paul Gaultier - Nicole Kidman for The Hours in 2003 and Marion Cotillard for La Vie En Rose in 2008; and Gucci - Helen Hunt for As Good As It Gets in 1998 and Charlize Theron for Monster in 2004.
This year's Best Actress favourite Cate Blanchett is known to favour Armani, having worn the designer at the Oscars previously in 2008 when she was nominated for Elizabeth: The Golden Age. In 2006, she wore yellow Valentino to collect her Best Supporting Actress prize for The Aviator. Cate's most recent Oscar dress was the pale Givenchy she wore in 2012. She's also worn Alexander McQueen often and recently on red carpets around the world.
Image courtesy: mediarun
Now, UK digital agency MediaRun has created a ready reckoner illustration in which you can see every dress worn by Best Actresses over the years. The very first outfit was a ready-bought jacket and skirt worn by Janet Gaynor, winner for her performances in three films, in 1929.
Notable dresses include the Irene dress Vivien Leigh wore to collect her Gone With The Wind Oscar in 1940; the Givenchy worn by Audrey Hepburn when she won for Roman Holiday in 1954; Grace Kelly's pale blue Edith head dress which she wore in 1955 when she won for The Country Girl; Gwyneth Paltrow's pink Lauren in 1999, the year of her Shakespeare In Love win; the Elie Saab Halle Berry wore to collect her Monster's Ball Oscar in 2002; and Jennifer Lawrence's pale Dior dress from last, when she took the honours for Silver Linings Playbook.
16 dresses are missing from the graphic - unworn by the 12 actresses who didn't show up to collect their Oscars. Katharine Hepburn, who holds an Oscar record with four Best Actress wins, was AWOL each time. Glenda Jackson did not show twice, when she won for Women In Love and A Touch Of Class. In 1935, It Happened One Night actress Claudette Colbert was so certain she wouldn't win that she was sitting on a train when the awards were being handed out. The MIA list also includes Sophia Loren, Ingrid Bergman, Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Crawford, Maggie Smith, Ellen Burstyn, Anna Magnani, Patricia Neal and Anne Bancroft.
Fashion houses also have Oscar records, of sorts. Armani has three Best Actress wins - worn by Jessica Tandy for Driving Miss Daisy in 1990, Jodie Foster for The Silence Of The Lambs in 1992 and Emma Thompson for Howard's End in 1993. Four designers have two wins each: Dior - Reese Witherspoon for Walk The Line in 2006 and Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook in 2013; Yves Saint Laurent - Jane Fonda for Klute in 1972 and Kate Winslet for The Reader in 2009; Jean Paul Gaultier - Nicole Kidman for The Hours in 2003 and Marion Cotillard for La Vie En Rose in 2008; and Gucci - Helen Hunt for As Good As It Gets in 1998 and Charlize Theron for Monster in 2004.
This year's Best Actress favourite Cate Blanchett is known to favour Armani, having worn the designer at the Oscars previously in 2008 when she was nominated for Elizabeth: The Golden Age. In 2006, she wore yellow Valentino to collect her Best Supporting Actress prize for The Aviator. Cate's most recent Oscar dress was the pale Givenchy she wore in 2012. She's also worn Alexander McQueen often and recently on red carpets around the world.
