Hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, the Oscars welcome the first leading role nominations for an Asian woman next to blockbuster performances from Lady Gaga and Rihanna
Haider Ackermann for the John Paul Galliano couture show
After seeing him in the front row at the Haider Ackermann for the John Paul Galliano couture show, we can only hope to see him in the mantle jacket irrigated by golden spikes. If for the luncheon, Cate Blanchet wore a sharp cut suit in pastel yellow signed Lanvin, for the award gala, a Schiaparelli couture piece like the velvet brown deep V-neck suit would leave a mark. Michelle Yeoh is one of the actresses having some of the most underestimated gala appearances. She can remain faithful to Chanel or spark more interest in a harlequin-inspired Armani Privè piece.
Styled by Tom Eerebout and Sandra Amador – who work with famous singers like Lady Gaga or BANKS – Austin Butler had his share of inspired looks, varying from Alexander McQueen or The Raw to Celine and Prada. Seeing him in a Saint Laurent bow shirt paired with sharply fitted trousers from the latest menswear collection would completely match the character. Tom Cruise continues with his signature blue suit that has been attached to his name more than to a specific designer.
Best Costume Design. From Elvis to Babylon
With all the fashion talk surrounding the red-carpet moments, there is still little attention given to the best costumes category in the movie industry. Speaking of the costume designers’ relevance and their imprint on trend-setting and styling culture, some of this year’s nominees go for Babylon, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and Elvis. Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris and Everything Everywhere All at Once have been chosen in the same category. Missing from the list are Don’t Worry Darling! and The Fabelmans.
Winnings in this category become overly focused on historical relevance and craftsmanship superiority, much more than on the tone of voice hidden by styling or its way of affecting people consuming the movies. Counting on rewarding artifice and fantasy, the Oscar can likely go to Ruth Carter for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, even though she is a winner of the same category in 2019. Catherine Martin for Elvis had some large shoes to fill, depicting Austin Butler as one of the greatest fashion icons whose imprint on style innovation remained relevant to these days.
Inspired by Napoleon’s wardrobe and decorations, Elvis’s history-making costumes were originally designed by William Lewis Belew (also known as Bill Belew). They were some of the first garments to open up the conversation on stage costume, withdrawing from masculinity norms or color codes in the same way they didn’t shy away from amplifying the magnetism of a performing body. Attempting to recreate that effect is a courageous act for award-winning Catherine Martin, who already depicted a dream world in Moulin Rouge and The Great Gatsby.
Expecting couture looks for the attending actresses
Following the tradition settled in 1982, all the stars gathered for the Beverly Hilton luncheon, where dominating the atmosphere were casual chic ensembles like denim deux-pieces and reserved tailoring in pastel or neutral colors. The Oscars are a fashion event ready to be dissected and over-analyzed. Similar to the competing movies and casts writing a page of history, the nightgowns and suits parade a life on their own.
Most brands choose to keep the dresses in their archives, while emblematic pieces like Elizabeth Taylor’s and Audry Hepburn’s for the Academy Award can eventually go for auction. Some memorable appearances will gradually increase the value of the garment, as most Gucci dresses have. After his buzzing Venice moment made viral by red backless top and slim-fit trousers signed by Haider Ackermann, Timothée Chalamet has a high chance of stealing the show at the Oscars one more time even if he isn’t in the competition.
2023. The Oscar 95th edition takes place in Hollywood
Most likely, the Oscars feel like Christmas for movie lovers all over the world. There is a newly developed perception of the show as a hollow, and political event, none of which is untrue. However, in their essence, the Academy Awards are a stamp of approval on new topic waves, picking up the work of creatives contemplating controversial ideas. It is also about a spectacle per se, a movie by itself with carefully prepared costumes, great smiles, and side-eye glimpses. Two of this year’s motion pictures (The Fablemans and Babylon) center around the story of movie-making, only proving how people love seeing creators as spectators. Isn’t everything about identifying oneself with something greater than everyday life?
The 95th edition: March, 12th 2023
The 2023 Oscar will mark the 95th gala held on the night between the 12 and 13 of March. With last year’s mythically ‘meme-istic’ slap moment (that gained over seventeen million views compared to President Zelensky’s call for the Union’s help reaching over 600.000), the 2018 final awarding mistake, and Ellen De Generes’s clumsily made selfie in 2014, the Oscars can only predict long-lasting entertainment. This year’s Academy Award will be presented by Jimmy Kimmel, comedian and host on his talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live!, broadcasted on ABC. Beyond the amusement and fashion inspiration, the 95th gala will witness the first leading role actress nominee for an Asian woman, Michelle Yeoh, for her role in Everything Everywhere All at Once. Cate Blanchett, nominated in the same category for the movie Tár becomes a queer icon when portraying the renowned Lydia Tar, the first female chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic. At the 79th Venice International Film Festival in 2022, Blanchet was awarded the Best Actress Volpi Cup for the same role.
Oscars nominees and winner predictions
Expectations are very high for Austin Butler’s portrayal of Elvis and The Banshees of Inisherin to receive the best motion picture award. However, Brendan Fraser’s role immersion in The Whale should gain more praise in the best leading actor category, where the battle opens between the charismatic male figures seen in Elvis (Austin Butler), Banshees of Inisherin (Colin Farrell) or Living (Bill Nighy) and an underdog resembling male portrayal emerging in The Whale (Brendan Fraseror) and Aftersun (Paul Mescal).
From Sofia Carson Applause from Tell It Like a Cate Blanchett in Woman to Tár
Parallel to the granting gala, we foresee some exciting music performances from Sofia Carson (Applause from Tell It Like a Woman), Lady Gaga (Hold My Hand from Top Gun: Maverick), and Rihanna (Lift Me Up from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever). Mitski and David Byrne will perform their song, This Is a Life from the Everything Everywhere All at Once soundtrack, whereas Naatu Naatu is a Hindi song from the action movie RRR.
With the original orchestration composed by Justin Hurwitz, the Babylon album (Music from the Motion Picture) would deserve the win in its category. The best director award might predictably land in the hands of Steven Spielberg for the autobiographical story screened through The Fabelmans, or it could go to Martin McDonagh and The Banshees of Inisherin.
Blonde, Wakanda Forever and more
Wakanda Forever II is the superhero movie with four nominations in the best make-up, costume design, and visual effects categories, with Angela Bassett competing for best supporting actress alongside Hong Chau (The Whale), Kerry Condon (Banshees of Inisherin), Jamie Lee Curtis, and Stephanie Hsu (both playing in Everything Everywhere All at Once). Much anticipation for the leading actress category, where Michelle Yeoh is most likely to go home with the trophy for her interpretation of an immigrant woman experiencing the multitude of identities attached to her existence in other dimensions.
Ana de Armas received the nomination for Blonde, exposing an uncanny representation of Marilyn Monroe, overly stretched towards her fragility. The list filled by Andrea Riseborough (To Leslie) and Michelle Williams (The Fabelmans), and Cate Blanchett (Tár) mirrors the many facets of female characters, offering an accidental overview of women and society, their battle with limitations and self-sacrificing tendencies.
The Best Motion Picture Oscar goes to
Every year, Hollywood gathers in the mesmerizing rooms of the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles to partake in a collective celebration steered by the single most captivating storytelling technique – the movies. Far from the carefully choreographed speeches and the agenda settled before the award show, on a more human dimension, we all simply want to see what story’s best. Each year culminates with surprises and admitted shocks, but all the movies coming forward share a mismatched feeling of heartwarming eloquence. Coda (2022) directed by Sian Heder, became the first portrayal of a deaf family raising questions over what we redeem communication and conversation.
There was Nomaland or Parasite, and Greenbook centered on an unlikely friendship bond. The Shape of Water gave romance an otherworldly meaning in the most contingent way. The spotlight shines over the humbling human experience still holding the ties for greatness.
The 95th Academy Award from this year considers Triangle of Sadness, Women Talking, The Fabelmans, or The Banshees of Inisherin as much as Top Gun: Maverick and Avatar (The way of water). All Quiet on the Western Front is a German movie tackling war trauma whereas Elvis and Tár are intentional biopics relying on the fascination of two innovators in their creative field. Not many motion pictures address the entanglement between the outcast self-perception of an immigrant compelled by the starring sensation brought through the use of virtual multiverses. Everything Everywhere All at Once takes a familiar storyline about all the personas we can be and revives its potential to become this year’s winner.
Oscar 2023
A spectacle is nothing without its spectators. Dreamy as it is, the Academy Award gala remains a western construct glamorizing well-being in its lingering perception of talent and fame with drastic concerns over apparel. There’s still time to decentralize the movie industry awarding system, and can’t help but wonder how such a ceremony looks when assembled by different cultures on the same budget. By force of habit or genuine appreciation, for now, it feels right to keep evading by default.
