Natalie Portman’s Oscars cape
For a long time, female directors have often been unfairly overlooked when it comes to award nominations. At the 2020 Oscars ceremony, actor Natalie Portman decided to take a stand on the issue, wearing a cape embroidered with all of the names of female directors who didn’t receive a nomination.
Selena Gomez’s self-love purse
“Love yourself first” is the mantra that Selena Gomez goes by, with the actor and singer going as far as to have it tattooed on her back in Arabic. The mantra has also been seen on various clothing items and accessories that she has worn, including a coach bag she took to the 2017 Met Gala.
Lorde’s red Grammys dress
At the 2018 Grammy Awards, New Zealand singer and songwriter Lorde was the only artist to be nominated for Album of the Year who wasn’t given a performance slot in the ceremony. This prompted her to sew the words of American conceptual artist Jenny Holzer into the back of her dress. The piece talked about standing up to and overthrowing oppressors.
Angelina Jolie’s wedding dress
Angelina Jolie is known for wanting to give underprivileged kids a better chance in life, having adopted three orphans and established a children’s charity. Her kids were at the forefront of her mind on her wedding day, as she allowed them to draw little pictures over her dress. Not only is this a really sweet gesture of her love for her children, but it also made for a totally unique and sentimental wedding look.
Blake Lively’s Met Gala clutch
Another high-profile, family-oriented celebrity is Blake Lively, who wore a custom clutch bag to the 2018 Met Gala, bejeweled with the initials of her family members. Lively, who is married to fellow Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds, had the initials B and R, to symbolize their partnership, as well as J and I, to symbolize the names of their two children, James and Ines.
Saoirse Ronan’s silver lining gown
Saoirse Ronan’s beaded silver gown that she wore to the 2019 Golden Globes wasn’t just styled to look glamorous. The idea for the dress came about when Ronan asked the designer for a silver lining, as it had been a tough year for her on a personal level and a negative year in terms of current affairs.
Tiffany Haddish’s Eritrean gown
Tiffany Haddish’s Eritrean gown she wore to the 2018 Oscars was not only beautiful but also a touching tribute to her father. According to Haddish, her father had always told her to honor her people if she ever made it to the Oscars. Unfortunately, her father died in 2017, and never got to see the outfit, which makes the sentiment all the more moving.
Elisabeth Moss’ shoes
Only the eagle-eyed would have spotted the message hidden on the bottom of Elisabeth Moss’ shoes at the 2017 Emmy Awards. The actress’ stylist, Karla Welch, posted a photo of the bottom of one of her shoes, which read ‘off’, along with the caption, “You’ll have to guess what the other shoe says… our note to the patriarchy.”
Cara Delevingne’s patriarchy vest
Cara Delevingne’s message was not so subtle at the 2021 Met Gala, wearing a bulletproof vest with a bold red statement. When asked about her outfit, Delevingne stated that it was about women’s empowerment and gender equality, which is oh so clear to see.
AOC’s Tax The Rich dress
The US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, or AOC as she is often known, made her Met Gala debut in 2021 with an eye-catching look. Her white dress included the words, Tax the rich, which was quite a statement to make at an event that prides itself on grandiose luxury with a guestlist almost exclusively made up of the rich and famous.
Lady Gaga’s meat dress
The meat dress is undoubtedly one of Lady Gaga’s most famous outfits, and it’s one that became the biggest talking point among celebrity gossip columns when she was seen wearing it at the 2010 MTV VMA awards ceremony. Gaga wore the dress because she wanted to get across her message of fighting for what you believe in.
Spike Lee’s Kobe Bryant tribute jacket
January 2020 saw the shock death of the great basketball star Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna. Spike Lee is a huge Lakers fan and even made a documentary about Bryant in 2019. This prompted his decision to dress in the colors of his team and wear Kobe Bryant’s Nike sneakers at the 2020 Oscars ceremony.
Lady Gaga’s Kermit the Frog outfit
While Lady Gaga’s Kermit the Frog outfit may have looked bizarre and quite frankly, uncomfortable, the artist explained that it was her way of displaying that art and performance is her way of life, with clothes just another medium in which to express those feelings. The outfit caught Kermit’s eye, and he personally escorted her to the 2009 VMA Awards.
Joaquin Phoenix’s reuse of outfits
Throughout the 2019/2020 awards season, Joaquin Phoenix wore the same Stella McCartney tuxedo to promote sustainability and denounce fast fashion. Phoenix has been a long-time supporter of environmentally friendly practices, such as re-wearing clothes and living a vegan lifestyle.
Lady Gaga’s dove brooch
Lady Gaga attached a rather large, gold brooch to a black jacket for Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration in 2021. The brooch featured a depiction of a dove carrying an olive branch, which represents peace. The months leading up to the ceremony had been tumultuous and divisive, which is no doubt why Gaga opted for the universal symbol of the dove.
Billie Eilish’s environmental shirt
Environmentalism is a topic close to Billie Eilish’s heart, which she decided to express at the 2019 AMAs. She accepted her awards wearing a t-shirt displaying the name of the environmental campaign group Music Declares Emergency. The shirt wasn’t subtle, reading, No Music On a Dead Planet.
Emma Watson’s recycled dress
Emma Watson is another celebrity who has always had an eye on environmental matters, dating back to her Harry Potter days, when she wasn’t afraid to wear vintage on the red carpet. One of her most impressive shows of environmental solidarity came on the 2016 Met Gala red carpet, where she wore a dress entirely made out of the yarn generated by recycled plastic bottles.
Meghan Markle’s lotus-embroidered dress
Meghan Markle hasn’t had it easy over the last few years, being at the very center of a media storm because of her relationship with a member of the British monarchy, Prince Harry. When Markle appeared in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, she was wearing a black dress with an embroidered lotus flower over its shoulder. The lotus is a sign of rebirth and peace, which ties in nicely to the purpose of the interview.
Harry Styles’ gender-fluid fashion
Harry Styles’ fashion style has become more and more individualistic since he first broke onto the scene with One Direction. It has ventured into the territory of gender-fluid at times, representing not just Harry Styles himself, but the diversity of his fanbase. With the impressionable audience that he has, Styles’ fashion choices promote the idea that it is great to be yourself.
Lupita Nyong’o’s African pride dress
Black Panther star Lupita Nyong’o has never been afraid to show her Kenyan roots on the red carpet. During the Black Panther press tours and premieres, she has worn some of the brightest and most beautiful outfits in a showcase of African pride. One of the standouts was this purple number she wore to the South African premiere of Wakanda Forever in Johannesburg.
Amanda Seyfried’s equality hem
Amanda Seyfried’s message was clear at the 2017 Twin Peaks premiere, if not necessarily visible at first glance. The hem of her black dress had the word ‘EQUALITY’ written in bold lettering, as a reference to the gender pay gap that she had experienced within Hollywood and subsequently spoken out about.
Jane Fonda’s somber outfit
During the height of the Vietnam War in 1972, Jane Fonda believed that it was a time for sombreness and seriousness, and didn’t want to risk overshadowing the background of war with a glitzy dress. Instead, she turned up wearing a black Yves-Saint Laurent suit. Fonda had frequently spoken out against the war in Vietnam and had even visited the country briefly before winning her Oscar.
Michelle Obama’s VOTE necklace
Michelle Obama made her message clear at the 2020 Democratic Convention when she wore a necklace that spelled out the word ‘vote’. It was not a political piece, but rather a plea to younger people and people who may stay clear of the polling station to have their say and vote, regardless of which party they would choose.
Alicia Keys’ lack of makeup
This one is less about an accessory sending a message and more about a lack of it. Alicia Keys has been a long-term advocate for women not feeling as though they need to wear makeup to feel beautiful. Keys attends many functions and awards ceremonies without makeup to inspire young women and promote self-confidence.
All-black outfits for the Time’s Up movement
The 2018 Golden Globes came during a time of great unrest in Hollywood, with allegations of sexual misconduct leaving a dark cloud hanging over one of the movie world’s showpiece events. In support of the Time’s Up movement, many of the female actors attending the event turned up in full black attire.
Connie Britton’s poverty sweater
In a show of defiance, Connie Britton wore a black sweater to the 2018 Golden Globes that bore the words, ‘Poverty is sexist’. Britton wanted to highlight the lack of economic equality between genders around the world, as well as the lack of opportunity for self-betterment on offer to many young women.
Travon Free’s yellow-trim jacket
The outfit that Travon Free wore to the 2021 Oscars garnered a lot of attention, not just because of its visual appeal, but because the lining to the jacket had the names of people killed by police brutality in the United States embroidered into it. Free’s aim was to try and open the eyes of people who may not yet have realized the severity of the problem.
Jennifer Nettle’s radio protest dress
The singer Jennifer Nettle made a statement at the 2019 Country Music Awards by wearing a pantsuit that read, “Play our f****** records, please, and thank you”. This was in response to the lack of female artists being played on country music radio stations. The protest made even more sense with the CMA’s decision to celebrate women in 2019.
Kerry Washington’s safety pin
Kerry Washington’s fashion statement at the 2017 SAG Awards may have gone under many people’s radar because of its subtlety. The actor wore a safety pin attached to her dress to speak out against the way that many migrants trying to enter the United States had been treated.
Emma Stone’s planned parenthood pin
When she won her Oscar at the 2017 Academy Awards, Emma Stone was photographed wearing a pin in support of the Planned Parenthood organization. The organization had at the time, recently been defunded, a decision that was overturned around four years later.
Jennifer Lewis’ Colin Kaepernick tribute outfit
In the wake of the storm surrounding American Footballer Colin Kaepernick’s decision to take a knee rather than sing along to the national anthem, his sponsor Nike decided to stand in support of him. This caught the eye of Jennifer Lewis, who turned up to the 2018 Emmy Awards in full Nike gear in a show of appreciation.
Lizzo’s vote dress
It’s not just people in the world of politics such as Michelle Obama who are encouraging the youth to vote, it’s pop stars too. A few months short of the 2020 US general election, Lizzo wore a black dress adorned with the word ‘VOTE’ in bold white lettering to the Billboard Music Awards. Her acceptance speech also touched on the importance of young people making their voices heard at the ballot box.
Elizabeth Taylor’s AIDS Awareness ribbon
To finish off her 1992 Oscars outfit, actress Elizabeth Taylor wore a red AIDS Awareness ribbon, which at the time, was a big move. AIDS had been heavily stigmatized during the 1980s and any move that a celebrity would take to de-stigmatize it would usually make the news, as Taylor’s move did.
Amber Rose and Blac Chyna’s paint dresses
Amber Rose and Blac Chyna wore almost identical outfits at the 2015 VMAs. Both their outfits were painted over with large-lettered, misogynistic insults that had been hurled at the pair. Amber Rose in particular has campaigned for many years over the misogynistic culture that she has found herself thrust into.
Saoirse Ronan’s upcycled dress
In a bid to push the importance of sustainability in the fashion industry and the negative impact that fast fashion has on the planet, Saoirse Ronan wore a bodice to the 2020 Oscars that had been upcycled from the dress that she had worn to the BAFTAs ceremony that same year.
George Clooney’s tribute badge
George Clooney raised eyebrows when he turned up to the 2015 Golden Globes sporting a Je Suis Charlie badge on his chest. This was in response to the terror attacks that had taken place earlier the same year at the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
Carolyn Maloney’s Suffragette outfit
US Politician Carolyn Maloney wore a full-blown Suffragette outfit to the 2021 Met Gala in support of the Equal Rights Act. This act prevents people from being discriminated against on the basis of their gender. Her outfit also included the slogan, Equal Rights for Women.
Aunjanue Ellis’ Mississippi flag protest dress
Aunjanue Ellis wore a dress to the 2016 NAACP Image Awards that bore the message, Take It Down Mississippi. This was in reference to the Mississippi flag being the last to bear the image of the Confederate flag. In 2021, the state of Mississippi changed its flag, taking away any reference to the Confederate flag.
Carolyn Maloney’s firefighter jacket
For many years, the US politician Carolyn Maloney fought hard to pass a bill that recognized the first responders to the scene of the 9/11 attacks in September 2001. At the 2019 Met Gala, she wore a neon yellow dress and a firefighter’s jacket, reminiscent of the high-visibility jackets worn by the emergency services at the scene of the attack. Her Never Forget the Heroes Act went on to be passed through Congress later that year.
Madonna’s feminist Met Gala outfit
Madonna’s outfit at the 2016 Met Gala raised many an eyebrow, which is exactly what the singer had intended. Her cheeky, mostly lace number was a statement that women over a certain age can still express their sexuality while feeling as confident as they had in their younger years.
