Designers give life to Oscar gowns; you vote
|
| Model Gerren Taylor wears a platinum jacquard strapless gown by designer Maria Pinto, at the "Oscars Designer Challenge," an up-and-coming fashion designers competition to determine a gown worn on the 81st Academy Awards show, at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills, Calif. on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2009. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) (Damian Dovarganes (STF)) |
| Buy Northwest Herald Photos » |
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – Calling all fashionistas: Oscar wants you.
The film academy is adding a “Project Runway” element to the Oscars this year by asking the public to vote on which dress the trophy presenter will wear.
The academy tapped seven emerging designers to create gowns for the competition.
They unveiled their entries during the annual Oscar fashion show at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ headquarters.
The winning dress “will be seen on Oscar night probably more than any other gown on the red carpet,” said Oscar fashion coordinator Patty Fox. She and show producers Laurence Mark and Bill Condon selected the competing designers.
Moire Conroy, Alan Del Rosario, Sam Kori George, Marianne Kooimans, Maria Pinto, Nicolas Putvinski and Robert Rodriguez each had about three weeks to design their dress. Pinto is the Chicago designer famous for dressing Michelle Obama.
Del Rosario, who already counts Michelle Pfeiffer and Debra Messing among his clients, said he was inspired by “old Hollywood glamor” when creating his strapless silk-and-lace mermaid gown.
Maria Pinto, who made Mrs. Obama’s Inauguration Day dress, called her Oscar entry “modern Marie Antoinette.”
The strapless silver column “is a study of control and release,” she said, noting that pleats at the waist shape a makeshift bustle in back.
Putvinski cited New York City skyscrapers as the inspiration for his flowing white gown with folds of silver across the front. Rodriguez also chose white, looking to Grace Kelly as a muse for his silk Grecian column accented with an asymmetrical black strap.
Conroy was inspired by the ’60s summer of love for her floaty gray chiffon design, while George was inspired by champagne – specifically the Taittinger girl – for his strapless silver crepe gown adorned with handmade orchids.
Kooimans showed an intricately embroidered, one-shouldered dress dripping with antique diamond brooches.
Fox said that while she didn’t offer the design contestants any guidelines, she hoped they’d embrace classic colors and styles.
“All the fashion gods were with us,” she said.
Cast your vote
Oscars Designer Challenge: oscar.com/play/?pn=vote
Academy Awards: www.oscars.org
Fans can vote online for their favorite gown until Tuesday. The winner of “Oscars Designer Challenge” will be announced during the red-carpet show before the Feb. 22 Academy Awards.
