Marion Cotillard in Dior Haute Couture

The 81st Oscars took place tonight and one word that summed up the night - from the set design, to the fashion - is CLASSY.  It seems like the actors took heed of all the previous award show fashion critiques because most of the dresses were gorgeous and there weren’t many mishaps.  The set design of the show was gorgeous - the curtain was made from 100,000 Swarovski crystals lit from behind.  The band was brought on stage to evoke the big band era of the 1940’s and the way the Best Actor categories were announced brought a few tears to the eyes.  That said, let’s get to the fashion!  There were definitely some trends - the main one being light, neutral colors like white and beige.  One of my favorite dresses of the evening was Nicole Kidman’s but sadly I don’t have a photo.

Pale Perfection

Pale colors were very popular on the red carpet from Marisa Tomei’s white Versace gown to Sarah Jessica Parker’s “barely mint,” pastels were the color of the evening.

Tarji P. Henson in Roberto Cavalli; Evan Rachel Wood in Elie Saab

Ms. Henson’s flower petal dress is gorgeous and she carries it so well. Ms. Wood’s dress is very sophisticated, and together with her retro hair, her look hearkened back to old school Hollywood glamour.  The dangling earrings and black nail polish were a nice touch.

Anne Hathaway in Giorgio Armani Prive; Jessica Biel in Prada

Both dresses are lovely - my only comment about Ms. Biel’s dress is that no matter how great your figure, no one really needs that much extra fabric in front.

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I love art that is beautiful, but it doesn’t get any better than art as social commentary.  Gagosian Gallery recently launched their newest exhibition, Greed: A New Fragrance by Francesco Vezzoli.  Created by Francesco Vezzoli, Greed is a non-existent fragrance that mimics the launch of traditional fragrances - from the bottle to the “celebrity endorsements.”  The “fragrance” is accompanied by a 60-second “commercial” directed by Roman Polanski and featuring Natalie Portman and Michelle Williams, Hollywood beauties that have never endorsed a fragrance.   Greed also includes “print ads” featuring the likes of Frida Kahlo, Lee Miller, and Georgia O’Keefe endorsing the scent.  Greed portrays the hype that surrounds the launch of luxury goods and calls into question where we place our values.

View the trailer below and the full length exclusively on Dazed Digital.  Also check out a short interview with the artist on Wallpaper.

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Natalie Portman is one of the few starlets that is truly a good role model. She’s smart, beautiful and always a lady. She’s a graduate of the Ivy League and manages to have a successful acting career. Ms. Portman keeps her personal life private and does work that she can stand behind. Which is why the following video is so hilarious. Some may take it as pure comedy, but knowing Ms. Portman, it’s a searing commentary on hollywood, hip hop and the cult of celebrity.

Natalie Portman plays a princess in Devendra Banhart’s Video for Carmensita, a Bollywood parody that’s pretty amusing. Check it out!

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A while back I posted about how I thought Keira Knightley was not the right person for the Coco Mademoiselle ads. “Though stunningly beautiful, I didn’t think Ms. Knightly embodied the class, elegance and style of Mlle. Chanel.” I meant to add that I thought Natalie Portman would have been a better choice. I just saw this photo of Ms. Portman wearing Chanel recently and it made me think of that again. Chanel announced a while back that Audrey Tautou would be the new face of Chanel No. 5 so I guess that’s out of the question for now. We’ll have to see, but my vote for the next face of a Chanel fragrance is N.P.