From Zendaya to Carey Mulligan to Andra Day, the midriffs are OUT tonight.
Crop Tops Dominated the Oscars Red Carpet
We're seeing rectus abdominus! We're seeing external obliques! It's the 2021 Oscars red carpet, and attendees are taking advantage of the “who knows what this night is going to be?" energy to bring out the most glam, sequin-heavy crop tops and bandeau bras we ever did see. We're still covering our mouths and noses in public, but let this Oscars night be a PSA: the CDC doesn't say we have to cover anything else.
Carey Mulligan, nominated for best actress for her role in Promising Young Woman, wafted in wearing a shimmering marigold, Valentino SS21 Couture two-piece. It's part princess, part Vegas, part prom queen just weeks before arts school starts. The bombshell gown is a sharp contrast to her highly aestheticized, ultra-feminine looks in the movie. Seated in the grand room at Los Angeles' Union Station, the skirt on her gown flared majestically, echoing the gold chandeliers hanging above.
Andra Day, nominated for best actress for her role in The United States Vs. Billie Holiday, wore almost the identical shade as Mulligan. Her's was skin-tight and slinky, a custom Vera Wang with a dramatic slit and short train. Their dresses seem like gorgeous compliments to each other, not a stylist's mistake. Day perfectly owns the golden goddess look, earning comparisons to the iconic Oscar statuette, with a little disco flair. Day told People that the super sexy look is an ode to Holiday, who "loved lingerie." Holiday was a lover of beauty—flowers in her hair, gold at her neck, a perfect red lip. Day, draped in gold, does her justice.
Andra Day, killing it
PoolZendaya wore yellow too, but her bold Valentino Haute Couture gown, with a ruched bandeau top, loose waves, and $6 million worth of Bulgari jewels, evoked a mogul vacationing on a private island. Zendaya never, ever misses, and tonight's Oscars red carpet is no exception. She also looks comfortable, which is impressive. The only drawback is that, possibly, her neck is tired from carrying around an entire display case of jewels. It's the only problem we would ever wish upon her.
Vanessa Kirby, nominated for best actress for her role in Pieces of A Woman, wore a pale pink custom Gucci column gown with a dramatic train and a structured bustier top that featured a peek of abdomen. It's a polite, stately crop-top, one that you could wear to Easter with the queen (well, possibly with a gigantic shawl.) Kirby, who you know from her role as Princess Margaret in season two of The Crown, wears it well.
At the 2012 Oscars, Angelina Jolie stated, without saying anything at all, that the theme of the evening was “legs.” In 2019, Gemma Chan's dress—it had pockets!—led a year that was all about arms. And this Oscar is undeniably devoted to midriffs. It is with great love for the 80's, too-early nostalgia for the 2010s, and still-simmering anger at high school dress codes, that we embrace midriff-themed Oscar night. It's a nice compromise between the heavy, giant gowns of past red carpets and the couture set suits celebrities have been wearing to seem “relatable.” For the first time in years, these women actually look like they're in Southern California, on a spring day.
Cut outs, high slits, diagonal straps, bandeaus, strapless gowns, and billowing skirts seem to promise a hopeful spring, and a happier, safer summer. Glamour fashion writers are on the ground (well, we're in sweats in our own living rooms) scanning the Oscars attendees. So far, not one single belly button has been spotted, but hey—it's still early.
Jenny Singer is a staff writer for Glamour. You can follow her on Twitter.
This story originally appeared on: Glamour - Author:Jenny Singer
