Nicole Kidman's Oscar Dress
Raise your hand if you love Nicole Kidman’s red carpet style
and watching this moment live in 2003 was a watershed moment for how you
appreciate fashion and personal style!
Nicole Kidman, in my opinion, is one of the most exciting modern actresses, not just in terms of her filmography—though I will always make it an appointment to watch her oeuvre, she’s truly one of my favourites—but in terms of her fashion. She was taking risks long before it was stylish to do so.
In the early 2000s, Nicole was riding a career high. In a
few short years, she’d put out Practical Magic, Eyes Wide Shut, The Others,
Moulin Rouge! (a personal favourite), and The Hours. She was
nominated back-to-back for Best Actress in 2001 and 2002, losing for Moulin
Rouge! to Halle Berry, but the following year, she was the frontrunner.
And a frontrunner needs a memorable gown. Enter Jean Paul
Gaultier, who lent her a black column gown with a sheer skirt and intricate
rope-straps hanging over the shoulders.
Officially, it’s called the Araignée du soir (or Evening
Spider) gown, and it was a part of Gaultier’s 2003 spring-summer haute couture
collection, Buttons. In 2014, Gaultier donated the iconic gown to the National
Gallery of Victoria for an exhibition entitled ‘The Fashion World of Jean Paul
Gaultier: From Sidewalk to the Catwalk.’
Nicole, he said in an interview at the time, was his first haute
couture client, and when she reached out to request a gown for the 2003 Oscars,
he was honoured.
For her part, Nicole said about the gown, “I was so
inspired by his talent and ability to shape the body with his designs, and by
the mastery with which he transformed a simple piece of black fabric into
something magical...”
But beyond that one moment in Oscar history, Nicole has
always been an exciting one to watch on the red carpet, and her resume on the
Oscars red carpet is nothing to sneeze at.
She first made headlines at the Oscars in 1997 for a chartreuse Dior haute couture gown—which many credit as ushering in haute couture on the red carpet and Nicole called her favourite for many years—and has since worn stunning creations by Armani, Louis Vuitton, L’Wren Scott, Valentino, Balenciaga, and Chanel.
I agree that this dress is fashion-forward -- I couldn't believe she wore it more than 20 years ago!
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