Oscar Buzz 23

 

This was a most interesting Oscar "Red Carpet" event. First of all the carpet was champagne and not red. The  number of nominees and Oscar winners was, perhaps, the most diversified in the Academy Awards' history. But for my purposes, most of the dresses worn by the celebrities were tasteful and some designs even provided a good dose of inspiration for the one-sixth renditions I would be creating for my divas. For this post, I chose 12 dresses, though there were a few others I wanted to try. My biggest regret...that gorgeous Moschino plum colored chiffon gown worn by actress Angela Bassett. I could get a hold of that fabric in a timely fashion. But for the ones I singled out....I got ambitious. Very ambitious. Some of these dresses were quite simple, however for a few, I had to treat them as pure craft projects. No pattern, I build the dress piece by piece, directly on the doll as I tried to figure it out! All in all, though, the trends from this year's event fell into three main categories: Simple Elegance (column dresses), Cake-Top Ballgowns, and Peek-a-Boo I see you. The color story was very clear..lots of black, lots of white and the occasional burst of bright color.

Lady Gaga is always a standout for my girls. She pushes the envelope with such class and elegance. For the most part, we didn't care too much for the Peek-a-Boo dresses. Though my girls can wear them well, most normal human bodies cannot. And there's always the question of...what happens when the body starts to move under those cage-like structures. But this Versace dress worn by Gaga..we couldn't resist. And here is what I mean by a pure crafts project. I used the netting (taken from the selvage edge of some sequin fabric I had on hand) and constructed a bodysuit. I thought this would be the best way to get the bodice close to the body without seams. On top of this, I stitched on a bra top. I used a stretch jersey inasmuch as the bodysuit was stretch. In hindsight, this was not the best fabric because it didn't lay as flat as it should. The outlines are made of 1/8-inch (3mm) satin ribbon. I would have preferred to use something matte, but yarn was out of the question because I needed something flat and I've never seen 1/8 inch ribbon in velvet. For the skirt (which is separate) I started out with a jersey skirt but it didn't have the structure needed for the stark A-line shape. So I swapped it out for a fabric with more body. The "jewels" on the belt are stickers. Her necklace is the double row of "diamonds" we featured in the previous post.

You know me...I LOVE a good basic black dress! I suppose I love them so much because, not only do they go everywhere, but you can dress them up or down. In this case, this one, worn by actress Andie MacDowell and cut in stretch velvet with its asymmetrical neckline is from the house of Saint Laurent. For this dress I used a basic jersey pattern and simply drew in a similar asymetrical neckline. It serves as the perfect backdrop to help showcase Lindsay's cascading "diamond" necklace.

As soon as we saw Vanessa Hudgens, one of the red carpet greeters on Oscar night, we fell immediately in love with her Chanel gown. Again, very simple, very elegant and 100 percent class! For the version modeled by our lovely model, Belle, I used a stretch velvet trimmed with white satin. I kept her "diamond" necklace simple. It's a single row of rhinestones tied into a single knot in the middle!

The problem with black dresses is that, most often, you cannot distinguish the details. So for me, the Dolce et Gabanna dress worn by Phoege Walker-Bridge appeared to be a column dress with a sheer black lace corset top. For my girl, Helena, I created a black lace corset worn over a sleek black narrow skirt. The look begged for something else. So I tossed a fancy embroidered shawl with silk fringe over her shoulders. Only when I finally saw a larger photo of the original dress did I discover that the skirt is made from dévore (burn-out or acid etched) velvet. Dévore will be the subject of a project I will be presenting in the near future. I have to order the supplies. 

But for the moment, what I would like to bring your attention to is Helena's necklace. It is a 1/6 scale rendition of the diamond version of Elsa Perretti's serpent necklace for Tiffany's. I added a clay head and tail (later dipped in silver glitter) to a length of rhinestones. 

My Barbies were all over award winning film maker Ava DuVernay's shimmering look. Instead of sequins for the shawl and train, I used a dark silver Lurex. I also used a panne velvet for the dress underneath. On the other hand, we did not think she Ms. Duvernay needed the belt which, in our opinion, interrupts the sleek lines of the dress. 

We were very happy to see the first Asian actor win Best Actress. (It's about time, no!!!) Congratulations Michelle Yeoh. We love the soft white gown she wore from the house of Dior. For our girl Yoon's 1/6 rendition, we did not have time to source out the feathers and apply them one by one. So... we cut out the dress and added row after row of a sheer nylon cut into fringe then attached row by row. Around her arms...a whisper of white tulle. (P.S. We tried to get Yoon to smile. But she's bashful and this is her first time on the red carpet and this was her first cover shot. She was very nervous. Sorry about that!) 

Nicole Kidman is another actress we always have our eye on when she arrives on the red carpet. Her dress, from Armani Prive, is a simple, one shouldered black sequin sheath, slit up the thigh and adorned with silver roses. For our girl Karen, we stuck pretty close to the original design, using a micro sequinned fabric decorated with silver Lurex roses planted on one shoulder and the top of the thigh.

Quelle Elegance! Here is Danai Guirira looking positively regal in this gown designed by Jason Wu. It is a very simple but spectacular dress with the strapless bodice topping a full gathered skirt. Our girl Grace wears her version in the same elegant fashion. We got a little fancier with the bodice, opting to use flattened drapes over the torso. And please note.... we were able to recreate a similar mile-high hairdo! 

Here's another "cake-top," fit and flair scarlet dress designed by Elie Saab and worn by Cara Delevigne. It is an one-shouldered gown with a bodice draped close to the torso and lots of volume in the skirt. We recreated the same look for our girl, Yvette...right down to the giant rose on one shoulder to the thigh high slit in the front.

And while we're on the subject of big dresses..... We really wish the stylist for Florence Pugh had chosen a simpler dress for her. While we saw so much potential in this dress, we felt it overwhelmed the wearer. The black hot pants and platform shoes underneath did nothing for the overall look. Moreover, Ms. Pugh came across as looking as if she had gathered up all of her bed linens around her just before appearing on the red carpet. That said... we did like the spirit of the dress and was motivated to select our fresh face model Ingrid for our 1/6th version. I chose an oyster white taffeta...a fabric with enough body to carry off such a spectacular look. Initially I began with a bra top, but ended up with a more simple empire waist bodice (which I pinched in the middle)  instead. It was just easier to suspend the skirt from a simpler structure. The skirt is gathered then attached to the bodice. I will be honest...this resulted in a dress that was way too heavy to stay up. So....I used small strips of clear vinyl to create straps which are nearly invisible in my photos! The dress by itself was nice, but I felt it could be taken to the next (more avant-garde) level with another skirt underneath. The sleeves, both in my version and the original version, are separate. This is a large tube with gathers on both ends. We tacked the excess together in a variety of spots across the back. The end result is abstract yet elegant at the same time. In some ways, it almost recalls the creations of architect Franck Ghery .

Another cake top dress....

Normally I loathe this sort of fishtail gown, here, worn by India's Bollywood superstar, Deepika Padukone. (Please note, Ms. Padukone was misidentified by the Hollywood press as Camillia Alves.)  But Veronica (who is modeling our dress) reminded me how this look really smacks of old Hollywood in its glory days. As simple as it is, this dress taught me a few lessons. There is a reason why you rarely, if ever, see doll dresses in velvet. Other than a simple tube dress, the fabric is too thick for most 1/6 scale garments. I began with a small empire waist bodice that I pinched in the middle to create the sweetheart neckline. The skirt part of the dress is attached to this bodice. A gathered piece of fabric is attached to the hemline. I made the decision not to go as wide as with the original dress because I felt it made the dress appear a little too kitsch. In the original dress, there are pieces gathered into the dress draping down from the shoulders over matching gloves. When I tried this, those pieces did not drape well; they appeared to be wings. So.....I made the decision to create instead, matching velvet gloves with poufs on the top. This gives us the option to wear the dress without the gloves and under a coat, for example.

 

I've saved this one for the last because, other than the fact there is a silver dress in both looks....there is no relation between the two. I chose this dress because I do like the notion of silver combined with another color. Ms. Bingbing's dress is lovely, but I thought it could be so much more interesting than that standard beaded column dress with deep decollete that we know so well. I'm also not fond of the color of the "duster coat" nor of its overpowering winged sleeves. For Anna's dress, I chose some sparkly wired Christmas ribbon and had a little fun with how it unraveled at the edges. Instead of a big bulky coat, Anna chose a pleated silk wrap in teal. Softer, more contemporary. 

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