Who re-wore it best? – Oscars 2020 Edition

The annual event took place on 9th February 2020

Even though the whirlwind that is award season is over, it seems that the social and political commentary of both A-lister celebrities and designers are certainly not showing any signs of slowing down. Throughout both the Academy Awards and The Vanity Fair After Party, the red carpet has now not only become a place for glowing celebrities to showcase their shimmering gowns and crisp suits, but also provided them with a space to experiment, switch-up and, for this year, re-wear some of their old 'fits.

I thought I’d take a look at some of the different and innovative ways that celebrities are beginning to change the subject of their fashion choices into a wider conversation about sustainability, fast fashion and climate change.

Vintage

A popular trend that has been on the rise especially over the last few years is vintage – a retrospective fashion design that is made to resemble older styles of clothing.

Kim Kardashian

As a popular advocate of red carpet vintage, Kardashian did not disappoint when she wore one of the only two dresses designed by Alexander McQueen in his Spring/Summer 2003 collection. The other dress is actually featured in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in which it is labelled: “a poetic rendering of a disaster at sea”. Intensely symbolic of this maritime theme of climate change, the implications of this dress seems to be even more prevalent now as they did when it was first featured in 2003.

Margot Robbie

Typical of her dignified yet understated style, Robbie’s black Chanel dress resembled the one featured by Claudia Schiffer in the Chanel Spring/Summer 1994 couture collection.

Penelope Cruz

Following the Chanel trend, Cruz dug into the archives as she featured a vintage black dress with white pearl belt caps and a white camellia inspired by the French design house’s Spring/Summer 1995 Couture show.

Lily Aldridge

Not only did Aldridge feature one but two vintage dresses: when presenting the show, she opted for a Ralph Lauren design from the Spring/Summer 2013 collection. For the after party she then opted for a white Gucci ensemble which is reported to have been designed by Tom Ford circa Autumn/Winter 2004.

Sustainability 

Jaoquin Phoenix

Not only was Phoenix a winner of multiple awards over the last month for his lead role in Joker, but the actor also championed his own sustainable success by wearing the same Stella McCartney suit for the whole of awards season. Whilst some of his peers raised awareness of climate change through their fashion choices, Phoenix’s powerful speeches were the cherry on top for his fierce advocacy of environmentalism.

Saoirse Ronan

While Jaoquin Phoenix consistently wore his sustainable suit, Ronan took a more experimental approach with her Gucci dress: using the top black part of her dress from the Baftas a week prior, Ronan’s Oscar dress featured an assembly of some of the old and some of the new.

Léa Seydoux and Kaitlyn Dever

As part of Louis Vuitton’s Red Carpet Green Dress (RCGD) campaign – a female-lead initiative aimed at moving the red carpet fashion conversation towards sustainability – Seydoux and Dever both stepped out in flawless ‘green’ looks made from sustainable materials.

Recycling

Jane Fonda

Presenting debatably the most prestigious award of the season for Best Picture, it was refreshingly significant that Fonda stepped out in the same Elie Saab dress that she had debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in 2014. Despite its reappearance 6 years later, Fonda’s revival of the crimson masterpiece proved just how powerful it can be- especially when it involves re-wearing a beautiful piece of fashion in a sustainable way!

Laura Dern

Winning the hearts of everyone from every nation (I may be a little bias), Dern struck again by re-wearing her custom-made Giorgio Armani after party gown. With its first appearance in 1990 at the Wild at Heart premiere during Cannes Film Festival, Dern simply demonstrated how fashion can be like a vintage wine: it certainly ripens with age (even when it’s 30 fashion years!).

Elizabeth Banks

In solidarity with Laura Dern. Banks also opted to re-wear her Badgley Mishka 2004 dress, adding in a post on instagram: “It’s gorgeous and it fits…so why not wear it again?!” with the hashtags “#radvocacy #repurposed”.

In the past and as audiences, we periodically observe these annual events where A-lister celebrities get their glitz and glam on – but for what reason?  Why do we continually pour over “Who wore it best?” or create “Worst dressed” lists whilst ultimately side-lining the fact that these pieces were probably all custom-made and will never be worn again.

In this constantly changing world of the physical, social and political climate, it seems that the red carpet is successfully showing its movement away from the fast fashion pieces it once showcased and instead towards a new global commentary involving sustainability and environmentalism within prestigious events.