Italian Designers on Oscar Red Carpet 2010

Italian Fashion at Oscars 2010

Italian fashion designers have been dressing the stars on the Oscar red carpet for decades now. About two decades, to be precise. Italian style has dominated the Academy Award star parades ever since Giorgio Armani became one of the first Italian designers in 1990 to realize the tremendous advertisement potential of the Oscars. He dressed Jodie Foster and Michelle Pfeiffer for the Oscar red carpet in understated yet sensual gowns that year, making Armani the go-to brand for stars before Oscar evenings.

Jennifer Lopez, Amanda Seyfried, Hillary Swank in Armani Prive' at Oscar 2010

Armani has continued to dress the stars over the years, and in Oscar 2010, Jennifer Lopez and Amanda Seyfried glided down the carpet wearing pale, frothy Armani Prive' concoctions. Hilary Swank's black Armani Prive was anything but frothy, it clung to her shape, and scooped spectacularly low in the back as well as front. She skipped the Oscar carpet, but showcased the infrequently seen risqué side of Armani at the Oscar after-party.

Mariah Carey, Kate Bosworth, Amanda Seyfried in Valentiono at Oscars 2010

Another Italian fashion guru to have clothed dozens, if not hundreds, of A-listers is Valentino. Who can ever forget Julia Roberts in her striking black-and-white gown as she accepted her Oscar in 2001? This year, the House of Valentino did not disappoint: Kate Bosworth wore a trademark Valentino in red, and Mariah Carey turned up in a sexy navy blue piece from the same house. Seyfried wore a short yet elegant Valentino to the Oscar after-party.

Elizabeth Banks and Demi Moore in Versace at Oscars 2010

For 2010, another regular on the Oscar red carpet, Versace, rode on the timeless splendour of Demi Moore, dressing her in a dusty-pale blush gown which showed off her skin, making it the darling of the cameras. The Versace team, usually given to bling, showed they had the experience and skill to make a pale dress, all chiffony ruche, stand out in the starry crowd. The other offering from Donatella Versace was a similar, yet vastly different, gray gown on Elizabeth Banks.

Carey Mulligan in Prada at Oscars 2010

Gucci appeared on Jennifer Lopez at the after-party, and Patricia Clarkson wore Alberta Feretti to the event. But one of the most talked about Italian designers was Miuccia Prada, worn by Carey Mulligan. Black was the exception rather than the rule for women on the Oscar carpet this year, but Prada created a big black gown, shorter in the front, embellished with tiny knives, forks and scissors for Mulligan. Esoteric, but classic in a different sort of way, Prada achieved world-wide television mileage worth millions with that gown.

Quite a few of the male stars went for Italian designers as well. Gerard Butler dressed up in a custom Gucci peak lapel single-button tuxedo, Jeff Bridgs chose a tux from the same designer. Matt Damon showed up in Ferragamo, George Clooney favoured Armani, Steve Carell was clad in Canali, and the Twilight star Taylor Lautner looked natty in Dolce & Gabbana.

All in all, 2010 was not a bad year for the Italian designers on the Oscar red carpet. Each year Italian fashion brands begin their Oscar race at the Cannes Film festival to choose the stars who would best wear their lines. They court the stylists of those stars, provide those Hollywood darlings with tickets to fashion shows in Europe, and front row seats. All that hard work paid off once again this year as all those bold and the beautiful of Hollywood stepped forward bearing the standards of Italian style for Oscar 2010.

Taylor Lautner in Dolce Gabbana, Jeff Bridges in Gucci, Clooney in Armani, Steve Carrell in Canali at Oscars 2010

By

Damyanti Ghosh