Posts Tagged ‘Armani Prive’

Jennifer Lopez looked amazing in her overwhelming champagne pink Armani Prive’ gown at the Oscars, with all its origami folds. It’s always wonderful to see Jennifer in a lot of fabric, because she usually goes more naked and body conscious. This gown reminded us of when she wore the pale grey Chanel couture to the Oscars in the nineties, and how flattering it was to her skin and hair. She just rocks it in pale colors. She looks majestic – and at the same time, super curvy – and it makes her beauty more refined and regal. Her makeup was also amazing – so natural, in contrast to such a strong dress. We hear she had her original makeup man Matthew van Leeuwen do the honors this time, that they are back working together again, after man years of being apart. Now, Amanda Seyfriend also wore Armani Prive’ – in pale pale green. That’s two for two for Armani with the Oscar women, and they came in right under Marchesa, who dressed three nominees – an incredible fashion achievement! This paler than pale color scheme is certainly a MAJOR awards season trend – washed down colors that almost have a pastel glow – so soft they appear white, but in other light, they shimmer with pink, grey, green, or violet. It comes from all the great new fabrics couturiers are working with that play with sheen and opalescence. The bodice of this stress is very stiff, lined with boning, and reminds us of that trend that Kate Hudson started in her stiff bodiced Marchesa at the Globes. We’re not sure about this stress on Amanda. It’s a WHOLE lotta dress for a small girl, and even though her small ballerina hairdo works with it, it looks a bit too bridal and overwhelming for her frame – and also for her youthfulness. She needs a little help in the red carpet department. Meanwhile, Jennifer Lopez changed into a chic black fashiony number for the Vanity Fair party – a Gucci pre-fall 2010 black silk viscose jersey belted drape gown with black ostrich feather detail on the shoulder. Chic!!! We love a lady who gets to wear TWO dresses on Oscar night!!!

You undoubtedly noticed Penelope Cruz’s mermaid body-hugging tiny-bit-of-see-through Armani Prive’ gown at the Golden Globes on Sunday night at the Beverly Hilton. But turns out, she was not the only Globe gowned lady to be wearing Armani. Reese Witherspoon and Jodie Foster were also wearing gowns by Armani – and while we loved seeing those dresses at the event and on tv on our VCR’s, we can’t find photos of them ANYWHERE online. Even Wireimage doesn’t have photos of these dresses – a big big no-no, and very strange. No, Reese and Jodie did not walk the red carpet, but they WERE onstage, so we can’t figure it out. Meanwhile, that black mermaid fishtail silhouette was also seen on both Helen Mirren and Sophia Loren – and turns out, both gowns were Armani. Much was made of Ms. Loren’s gown, with its illusion pieces at the shoulder that were so chic. It WAS a tight dress for a woman of this age (74 – but looking amazing), as was Mirren’s (age 64) – but who says you can’t be sexy at that age? Apparently, if you wear Giorgio Armani, you can. And if you’re famous and have a lot of money. We do think these dresses look dangerously similar – and we wonder if any of these women minded. It didn’t appear so.

Already blown out by 2010 and we’re only five days in? Don’t blame it on us! You had two full weeks off! Okay, so if the pre-Globe preparations aren’t doing you in – gathering jewelry and clothes, organizing hair and makeup – and then the Screen Actors Guild Awards the following week – or making plans for Sundance – or setting up your TIVO for the mid-season new shows – or catching all the movies you missed over Christmas – or thinking about NY Fashion Week on Feb 11, followed by Europe fall collections – there is ALSO the Paris couture shows for spring 2010, that start Sunday January 24th and end January 28th. Now, many magazines have cut back the amount of editors who are sent to these shows to cover them – and therefore, their importance has definitely slid. The pictures are shown on the internet, but these gowns and looks are pretty much reserved for the Oscars on March 7th. These dresses won’t be ready for the Globes or the SAGS, and are so expensive and elaborate that the designers want to have maximum impact. And they are all in a size 2, since usually only one version of the dress is made. If a star wants to wear one, she’ll have to be a 2. (This may explain how Anne Hathaway got so thin last year.) Christian Dior and Armani Prive are schedule for Jan 25. Chanel and Givenchy are January 26. Elie Saab, Gaultier and Valentino are Jan. 27. These looks are from the last Chanel Couture round of shows in Paris – and this is why couture will never die, even though very few American editors will be there. There is more info on the website.

Paris couture just kicked off, and while Dior and Chanel are always the ones with the amazing clothes, Giorgio Armani’ Prive’ – shown with Paris couture and not in Milan, where G.A. shows his ready to wear – is always the one show with the stars. Armani cultivated movie stars in the 90s with Michelle Pfeiffer, Jodie Foster and Annette Bening among the female celebs who always wore his clothes – and Russell Crowe, Steve Martin, Billy Crystal, George Clooney and other major men wearing his suits. In the last few years, Armani Prive’ has turned up most often and most prominently on Cate Blanchett and Ann Hathaway. So it makes sense Ms. Blanchett would come to Paris for Mr. Armani’s big show – wearing a beautiful black base, printed Armani sheath dress on the red carpet. “Transformers” box office queen Megan Fox also turned up – turning up the heat in a one shoulder white Grecian Armani sheath, very slinky and sexy.

Blanchett is in the midst of playing Maid Marion in the new Ridley Scott version of “Robin Hood,” with Russell Crowe (she took over a role Sienna Miller had been cast in, then cast out of, when it was thought she seemed too young for Russell Crowe, and she has several other movies on her slate, including a big screen version of fashionista cartoonist and illustrator Marisa Acocella’s “Cancer Vixen: A True Story.” Megan Fox will appear in the action comedy “Jennifer’s Body” this August, written by “Juno’s” Diablo Cody – and also has at least five new movies on her slate. So if either or both star is attending The Globes or The Oscars, watch for something from this couture show to be on one or both of their backs!

 

Everybody’s weighing in on Oscar fashion – even those highly well-dressed women on “The View” (if you didn’t denote a note of sarcasm in print, we’re letting you know – that’s sarcastic!). Consensus has it that Marisa Tomei’s Versace couture had too much fabric and pleating (that’s what designer Randolph Duke said on KABC last night), that Miley Cyrus was dressed far too old, that Kate Winslet looked amazing in her YSL chicness, that Penelope Cruz (in vintage Balmain) and Sarah Jessica Parker (in Dior couture) stole the night – this is what Fashion Rules has to say, since we certainly have our own opinion:

 

MAJOR HITS  

• Penelope Cruz in her vintage Balmain – the Oscar winner switched it up from black to white, and while her miles of latte-like froth did look a little bridal – it was still a stunner, with her Audrey style hair.
• SJP in Dior Couture – miles and miles of seafoam tulle – if only she’d run down the streets of Manhattan in it now!
• Natalie Portman in Rodarte fuscia – a strapless close fitting body skimming princess gown. She took our breath away – and definitely had the best makeup of the night. Or maybe it’s just the best face.
• Kate Winslet in YSL two tone steel gray and black lace – a fabulous combo, a new style look for the red carpet, a great label, and a great fit. Lots of controversy about that molded hair – we loved it. It’s SO new.
• Taraji P. Henson in white strapless tiered Roberto Cavalli with a major Harry Winston diamond necklace – she looked classy AND like she was having fun – a rare combo. And it fit her beautifully.
• Freida Pinto in John Galliano one sleeved electric blue lace. It looked Indian and Parisian at the same time, and made her look more impossibly gorgeous than she is. And that’s hard.
• Angelina Jolie in Elie Saab Couture. The dress was all about her body – as well it should be. Those green honking Lorraine Schwartz earrings and ring were amazing on her – and a whole different way to go for Oscar jewels.
• Nicole Kidman in L’Wren Scott feathered white gown – fabulous. She wore her longtime stylist’s designer – very loyal, and it looked great. Why didn’t anyone care, though?

MINOR HITS  

• Amy Adams in red Carolina Herrera with a Fred Leighton collar necklace. Redheads in red, it’s an old topic. Essentially, it was a risk – and while the dress fit perfectly, we wish it was green – or blue – red on a red carpet just screams. The necklace was gorgeous, flattered her eyes – but stole the dress’s thunder, and didn’t really work with the color red.
• Viola Davis in an accordian pleat gold deco gown by Reem Acra – very pretty, very appropriate. Very flattering on her.
• Evan Rachel Wood in pale Elie Saab couture – very pretty, and less Goth than usual.
• Marisa Tomei in pale silver Versace major pleated gown with train – okay, so it was a whole LOTTA dress, and the train was high maintenance. It was quite a stunner and a major high fashion dress. Marisa has emerged this awards season as a real fashion risk taker. We applaud her, and loved it.
• Diane Lane in a black Dolce & Gabbana corset gown. It’s impossible for this woman to look bad.
•  Anne Hathaway in white sparkly Armani Prive – okay, we liked the pailettes, even if it weighed two tons, and she always looks pretty – loved the clean hair and red lips. But she looked uncomfortable and weighed down, and we think she could have done better. And she has done better – the Globes dress was MUCH better.
• Tilda Swinton – she toned it down in a blouse and skirt ensemble that was chic, and we like evening separates. Her red lips looked great with it. She’s an Oscar avant gardist, and we love her bravery.
• Tina Fey – she didn’t wear BLACK!!! She wore silver!! She looked HOT!! And cool! In Zac Posen – what a cool NY girl should wear.
• Halle Berry in black strapless and gold Marchesa – pretty.
• Beyonce in a mermaid black and gold House of Dereon design, probably her own. Very sexy.

 

MAJOR MISSES      

• Heidi Klum in the red thigh-high slit giant collared Roland Mouret: sorry, Heidi – but a fashion professional gets judged even more harshly. You wore a red dress like this to the Oscars before. Come ON, the whole idea is to look different. We love Roland Mouret, but this one looked like something out of “The Jetsons” – and the high slit was more becoming to the Grammy’s. Do you really need that much attention? They better get “Project Runway” back on the air, pronto!
• Vanessa Hudgens in an encrusted Marchesa fishtail black and white gown – too much texture on too tiny a girl. Her hair and makeup were pretty, though.
• Sophia Loren – okay, so she’s an icon, and she’s nearly eighty. She was wearing a child’s dress in an adult size – and a deep fake tan in a yellow dress – please, let’s leave that to Donatella.
• Miley Cyrus – You’ve dressed like you’re 12. Now you dressed like you’re 40. What about 16? That dress by Zuhair Muhrad looked like it might have worked at the Oscars in 1958.
•  Goldie Hawn – Does it matter who designed that beige nightgown? Her tan boobs were falling out, and it was just – embarrassing. Has she ever heard the word “class” – ?

 

MINOR MISSES  

• Reese Witherspoon’s two tone black and blue Rodarte was fashion forward, but overwhelming on her – she’s too tiny for all that dress. Also, her hair and makeup just flopped. Stylists Claire and Nina Hallworth just don’t do her justice.
•  Jessica Biel – the bow front white Prada was a cool move, a very fashion move – but it obscured her amazing figure. Maybe women liked this dress – but men wanted that big bow GONE. Interesting choice, though.
• Meryl Streep – the dress actually wasn’t that bad. She’s done worse. Now that hair  . . . . .
• Alicia Keys – that lavender Armani Prive gown was great. The hair was WAY too big, and so were those earrings!!!!!
• Jennifer Aniston in silver Valentino strapless – again, she didn’t wear black – that’s major for her. However, leaving her hair down and undone, and wearing an old-school style gown – she looked like she doesn’t care about fashion. And she doesn’t.

          We do like Anne’s cream and white tight strapless beaded Armani Prive’ – it’s chic and simple and the color stands out – and she was wise not to wear much jewelry to interrupt with it. Her simple hair and red lips are perfectly complimentary. However, we wish she’d worn a more exciting look – something more French and high fashion. This was a rather low key conservative look, and not our favorite on her.

 

 

Bags at the Golden Globes were mostly medium sized clutches by various designers, including Armani Prive, YSL, VBH, Fendi, Louis Vuitton, Jimmy Choo and Roger Vivier. Often, if nominees wore gowns by big designers, it was rather obligatory they carry their brand’s bags, too. It turns out a big priority for nominees is: they want bags their blackberries or Iphones fit in! These ladies want to text their family and friends while they’re at awards shows – even their friends across the room! However, actresses like Freida Pinto, Debra Messing, Rita Wilson, Robin Tunney, Lisa Edelstein, Brooke Burke and singer Miley Cyrus went a different route: they wore sculpted and stone-besotted Judith Leiber frame bags to accentuate their gowns. Leiber has a long history on the red carpet, and are actually the most expensive evenings bags, hovering between two and five thousand dollars – and are sold at Saks and Neimans, and their online stores. We particularly like the Ritz Fizz Radiant Pave Clutch Miley carried with her Marchesa gown at the Globes. – Merle Ginsberg

 

SO – scorekeepers – what was the total tally of how it broke down on who-dressed-who at the Golden Globes? Since every designer and big fashion house was hustling nominees to dress them, who won the red carpet sweepstakes – the second biggest one outside of the Oscars?

 

Here’s the breakdown, according to the information received from Fashion Rules:

 

THE BIG WINNER OF THE NIGHT WAS: OSCAR DE LA RENTA,  who dressed Kyra Sedgwick, Amy Adams, Jennifer Morrison and Marisa Tomei. He had FOUR great women in his gowns.

 

After that, it breaks down like this:

 

JOHN GALLIANO FOR CHRISTIAN DIOR: Drew Barrymore, Eva Mendes, Sandra Bullock

 

ROBERTO CAVALLI: Rita Wilson, Christina Applegate, Jessica Lange

 

J MENDEL: Taraji P. Hensen, Kate Beckinsale, Elizabeth Banks

 

REEM ACRA: Rumer Willis, Eva Longoria, Olivia Wilde

 

ARMANI PRIVE: Penelope Cruz, Anne Hathaway

 

ATELIER VERSACE: Angelina Jolie, January Jones

 

LANVIN: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Kristin Scott Thomas

 

ELIE SAAB: Beyonce’, Laura Linney, Evan Rachel Wood

 

YSL: Kate Winslet

 

MARCHESA: Jennifer Lopez, Miley Cyrus

 

VINTAGE FROM DECADES: Heidi Klum in vintage Galanos, Sophie Dahl in vintage Ceil Chapman

 

CHRISTIAN LACROIX: Freida Pinto

 

NINA RICCI: Blake Lively

 

CHADO RALPH RUCCI: Rachel Griffiths

 

BOTTEGA VENETA: Salma Hayek

 

HUGO BOSS: Susan Sarandon

 

GIANFRANCO FERRE:  Hayden Panettiere

 

HERVE LAROUX: Anna Pacquin

 

LOUIS VUITTON: Laura Dern

 

CAROLINA HERRERA: Renee Zellwegger

 

VERA WANG: Debra Messing

 

If you go to Style.com, you can see they did a feature today on Vogue.com’s TOP TEN AT THE GOLDEN GLOBES (http://www.style.com/vogue/bestdressed/011309/).

 

Well, we here at Fashion Rules have gotta say: NO WAY! This was the order of Vogue.com’s list, and we’ll give you FR’s talking points along the way:

 

1. Renee Zellwegger in Carolina Herrera  ARE YOU KIDDING US??? The hair, the dress – it was so OLD SCHOOL. And it wasn’t flattering at all. We love Mrs. Herrera, we love Renee – but not in THAT LOOK!! It made most site’s WORST look lists.

 

2. Marisa Tomei in Oscar de la Renta: okay, it was lovely. But it was a bit conservative and safe – even if it WAS chic. New York society LOVES its designers, doesn’t it?

 

3. Kate Winslet in YSL: Okay, we agree with this one.

 

4. Maggie Gyllenhaal in Lanvin: We agree here, too.

 

5. Blake Lively in Nina Ricci: VOGUE – WAKE UP!! THE DRESS DIDN’T FIT!!! And it was BOR-ING!!!

 

6. Amy Adams in Oscar de la Renta: Okay – that was chic.

 

7. Anne Hathaway in Armani Prive: should have been higher up the list – it was a beaut.

 

8. Elizabeth Banks in J. Mendel: We love J Mendel, too – but we liked Kate Beckinsale’s white J. Mendel a whole lot more than this peachy tight dress matched with the wrong necklace, and bad hair.

 

9. Cameron Diaz in Chanel Haute Couture: pretty dress. Too bad she’s got four inches of roots in her hair.

 

10. Salma Hayek in Bottega Veneta: She looked just GREAT.