The Oscars might be a celebration of cinematic achievement but the red carpet is all about fashion, offering stars an unrivalled platform to make a sartorial statement.
This year, the Academy Awards took place just five days after the death of Karl Lagerfeld, one of the most revered fashion designers in the industry.
At the age of 85, he was at the helm of three labels: Chanel, Fendi and his own namesake brand.
Some of the famous attendees at Sunday night’s awards took the opportunity to pay homage to the late designer, with actors Tessa Thompson and Jason Momoa among those to wear garments from his collections.
Tessa Thompson
The Creed actor wore a ruched strapless black and gold gown from Chanel’s spring/summer 2019 haute couture collection.
The floor-length dress, complete with mermaid-like ruffles at the hemline, featured beaded embroidery that reportedly required 225 hours of work.
The garment debuted on the runway during couture week in Paris in January, meaning it would have been one of the last designs overseen by Lagerfeld, who had been creative director at the luxury French fashion house for more than 30 years.
Making the connection clear, Thompson’s stylists Wayman Bannerman and Micah McDonald posted a series of photographs of her on their joint Instagram account, writing: “Honouring Karl... last couture collection x” in one of the captions, and “thank you for your legacy” in another.
Jason Momoa and Lisa Bonet
The Game of Thrones actor paid homage to the late fashion designer in a dusky pink velvet suit and hair scrunchie around his wrist, both of which were by Fendi, where Lagerfeld had been creative director since 1965.
Momoa’s tuxedo is thought to have been one of the designer’s final creations for the Italian fashion house.
Meanwhile, actor Lisa Bonet joined her husband in the tribute by wearing a lilac turtleneck gown from Fendi’s latest haute couture collection, calling it an “honour” to acknowledge Lagerfeld’s legacy on the red carpet in an interview with model Ashley Graham for MTV News.
Graham described the pair’s looks as “beautiful” and added: “What a great way to honour [Lagerfeld] tonight.”
Pharrell Williams
The “Happy” singer is no stranger to the front row at Chanel fashion shows, having long been associated with the brand and even designing a Chanel capsule collection that is expected to debut at the end of March.
On the Oscars red carpet Williams chose to honour Lagerfeld by donning a camouflage shorts suit from the label.
On the day the news broke that Lagerfeld had died in Paris, Williams posted a recent photograph of the two of them together on Instagram, writing: “The goat sleeps”.
