The Oscars 2023 ceremony is one of the biggest nights in the film industry and one of the biggest nights in celebrity culture. Top actresses and actors are judged by their peers and awarded based on who gives the better live-action performance. For example, Michelle Yeoh won her Oscar for Everything Everywhere All At Once. Due to the night being full of a-listers and photographers, the performance art specialists bring out their best dresses and tuxedos for the event—high fashion designers like to associate themselves with particular nominees to garner more traction. Let’s look at all of the Actress in a Leading Role nominees and what they chose to wear!
The Oscars, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, was held not too long ago. Michelle Yeoh won the Oscar award for Actress in a Leading Role, that role being Evelyn Wang. Previously, I compiled a similar list for the Emmys this year and enjoyed it, so I’m back with another.
Ana De Armas
Oscars 2023 Choice: Louis Vuitton
Our first nominee, Ana De Armas (“ADA”), teamed up with Louis Vuitton (“LV”) to wear the perfect dress to the Oscars 2023 ceremony. LV is no stranger to pushing celebrities down the red carpet in custom gowns; in ADA’s case, there was no difference. ADA wore a custom silk LV organza gown designed by Nicholas Ghesquiere. Choosing a silk base for a dress nods to simplicity and elegance. It could’ve been a purposeful choice by ADA because she was nominated for her role as Marilyn in the 2022 film Blonde. Marilyn was beautiful. And no matter how sexy she is to the male gaze, in other ways, it is argued that her beauty is simple and elegant.
ADA paired her dress with accessories from the LV high jewellery collection. The bracelets are pretty and accompany ADA’s dress well, but the jewellery outshines the dress as a separate piece. Perhaps an up-do would’ve changed the dynamic of her outfit as a cohesive look.
Andrea Riseborough
Oscars 2023 Choice: Alexander McQueen
The second nominee for the Actress in a Leading Role award is Andrea Riseborough (“AR”). AR’s nomination is derived from her role in the film To Leslie, about a single mother who wins the lottery, squanders it and has to live with reality. AR worked this year with Alexander McQueen (“AM”) for the Oscars. AM also decided to dress AR in a custom gown, the difference being appliqué embroidery and pink Lyon lace. The dress suits AR’s frame well and compliments the blue hues in their eyes. AR accessorised with simple jewellery; silver metal ear cuff—a beautiful element to her overall look that solidifies the AM-designed look.
Cate Blanchett
Oscars 2023 Choice: Louis Vuitton
The third nominee in this category is Cate Blanchett (“CB”), who also wore Louis Vuitton (“LV”) on the red carpet. Elizabeth Stewart styled CB in an archival collection top and sustainable silk skirt. Yet again, LV has used silk on another actress on the same red carpet – trend alert! We are currently having several discourses in the fashion industry concerning sustainability because of the damage it causes to the environment. For example, according to the UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion, the average consumer purchases 60% more clothing than they did 15 years ago. This is purely down to marketing because none of us needs 60% more clothing than our predecessors 15 years ago.
Styling celebrities in sustainable clothing often trickles down to high-street retailers who adjust their collections for mass consumption. This was a fantastic choice by CB and LV, without mentioning the accessories from the high jewellery collection.
Michelle Williams
Oscars 2023 Choice: Chanel
The penultimate nominee in this category was Michelle Williams (“MW”) for her role in the 2022 film The Fabelmans. MW worked with Chanel for the awards ceremony this year and was styled by Kate Young. MW was styled in a strapless floor-length dress covered in jewels fixed underneath a barely-there cape. The Chanel dress gives MW a demure look with a classic red-lip touch, almost like her role in the movie. The Fabelmans follows a young man who falls in love with film-making after his parents take him to a movie. MW plays the part of the young man’s mother. She is the supportive mother, a traditional societal position, but MW is not the main character, touching upon demurity.
Michelle Yeoh
Oscars 2023 Choice: Dior
Last but certainly not least, congratulations to the Actress in a Leading Role award winner, Michelle Yeoh (“MY”)! MY collaborated with Dior to put together an outfit for the awards ceremony. Dior dressed MY in a feather-embroidered couture dress by creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri. The dress is very swan-like in that MY’s dress features a modest mesh neckline attached to the feathers and embroidery. What is interesting about MY’s outfit is the uplift in jewellery that hasn’t been seen on the red carpet lately. MY accessorised with diamond earrings, rings and a watch. I don’t mind her not having a necklace – her attitude, gratitude and glamour carried her through.
