The stories behind certain dresses have made the dress itself more famous than the designer, brand, or the craftsmanship behind it. But did you know that these dresses are so iconic they even have their own Wikipedia page?
Throughout time, a selection of dresses have caught wide ranging attention by having a memorable impact, reaching worldwide audiences and leaving a stamp in our collective fashion memory. To give you an idea of the stories that lifted several dresses to legendary status, we created a top ten list of notable dresses with a story that earned them their own Wikipedia page.
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1. White Floral Givenchy Dress - Audrey Hepburn
Now regarded as one of the 20th century’s classic dresses, this white dress with a floral pattern accentuated Hepburn’s very slim waistline with its tight white belt. French designer Hubert de Givenchy, a close friend of the actress, had been Balenciaga’s pupil before he met Audrey Hepburn in 1953. Ms Hepburn had originally gone to Paris to acquire a couture dress by Balenciaga who turned her away, causing her to visit Givenchy instead - which was the beginning of their lifelong friendship. This dress that Hepburn wore to the 1954 Academy Awards was the first design of Hubert that she would be wearing. Seven times after this, Audrey would appear in a Givenchy design in her outstanding movies, next to being spotted regularly in his clothing off-screen.
2. American Express Gold Card Dress - Lizzy Gardiner
The surprising material of this dress - 254 authentic, expired American Express Gold Cards - which Lizzy Gardiner, an Australian costume designer, wore in 1995 to the 67th Academy Awards left the media stunned. Originally designed for the film The Adventures of Queen Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, the use of the dress was forbidden by American Express. As Gardiner declared to be ‘broke’, she chose this spaghetti-strap dress from her ‘list of past good ideas’ to wear to the event. This unusual garment received a sizable amount of worldwide attention from fashion critics and magazines, causing the design to aquire its own Wikipedia page.
3. Pink Ralph Lauren Dress - Gwyneth Paltrow
This dress, which credited Gwyneth Paltrow for bringing back pink into fashion, was worn by the actress to the 71st Academy Awards in 1999. She received the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Shakespeare in Love, and in the soft pink-colored gown with its wide skirt and V-shaped neckline, the style of the actress's dress was compared to that of actress Grace Kelly. Being widely copied after this event, this design by Ralph Lauren was received with mixed reviews but despite that turned into the number style for prom dresses that year.
4. The Jungle Dress - Jennifer Lopez
This silk chiffon green dress by Versace, with its tropical bamboo and leaf pattern and its low-cut neckline, was worn by American singer, dancer and actress Jennifer Lopez to the 42nd Grammy awards in February 2000. When JLo got to the red carpet, the crowd surrounding the scene started screaming and yelling at the sight of the entertainer in this eye-catching design - the dress became the most popular search query that Google had ever seen, inspiring the invention of Google Images by the search engine.
5. Black and White Valentino dress - Julia Roberts
Meant to evoke the style of classic Hollywood and designed with fashion icons like Elizabeth Taylor and Jackie Kennedy in mind, this vintage Valentino dress which Julia Roberts wore to the 73rd Academy Awards in 2001 was broadly praised by fashion critics. The floor-length dress that contains a black body with a white single stripe running down the dress’ front, where it splits into a Y-shape to form the pair of straps, was a design from the Valentino archives out of 1992.
Julia Roberts won the Academy Award for her leading role in the movie Erin Brokovich, which caused additional attention on the afterwards celebrated dress when she accepted the award.
6. Swan Dress - Bjork
Resembling a mute swan, this dress designed by Macedonian designer Marjan Pejoski was worn by artist Björk at the 73rd Academy Awards in 2001. With the neck of the giant swan around the artist’s neck, its head resting on her breast and this swan covering the full body stocking of which the design consisted off, the dress was a trending topic in the entertainment and fashion world during the weeks after the event. Valentino reimagined the dress at its Spring 2014 couture show in Paris, and in 2019 the design was featured for the exhibition in the Metropolitan Museum of Art Camp: Notes on Fashion. Artist Björk also wore the dress on her album cover of Vespertine, and her self-described obsession with swans which reflected in her outfit choice created a fashion impact that would last the rest of the decade and beyond.
7. White Marc Bouwer Dress - Angelina Jolie
Described as a stylish and memorable selection in subsequent years by celebrity and fashion publications, the satin white dress with its plunging neckline, designed by Marc Bouwer, was an eye catcher at the 76th Academy Awards in 2004. Actress Angelina Jolie wore this dress which was reminiscent of classic Hollywood style, the color and material causing her to be compared to iconic model and actress Marilyn Monroe of the 1950s. With the dress being described as both stylishy and difficult to wear, Angelina was praised for being able to pull off this look with which she left her notable mark in the red carpet fashion history.
8. Swarovski Crystal Mesh Armani Privé Gown - Cate Blanchett
Having spotted this dress during the Armani fashion show in Paris, Cate Blanchett stated that she knew this was the dress for her. The actress wore the long gray one-shoulder mesh gown which was studded with Swarovski crystals to the 79th Academy Awards in 2007. As the Oscar night was dominated by chic neutrals, mint green and shades of blue, Cate Blanchett stood out in her silver shimmery dress and received praise from fashion critics.
9. Blue Prada Dress - Lupita Nyong’o
In March 2014, Actress Lupita Nyong’o wore a powder blue, custom designed georgette soleil ballgown of silk with a low-cut back, a plunging V-neckline and a pleated flowing skirt with a subtle crystal trim to the 86th Academy Awards. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal in 12 Years a Slave, and her outfit came to be considered as one of the most significant gowns of all time in Hollywood History.
The shade of the design was inspired by Nyong’o’s hometown in Kenya, referred to by the actress as ‘Nairobi blue’, and her individual style statement was praised across social media and fashion blogs.
10. Black Christian Siriano Gown - Billy Porter
On the red carpet of the 91st Academy Awards in 2019, American Actor Billy Porter wore this full-length black velvet tuxedo dress. With a strapless bodice worn over a high-necked tuxedo shirt, a tuxedo jacket and a large bow tie in combination with the ball gown’s skirt which is reminiscent of 1860s gowns, designer Christian Siriano realized his concept that combined the two different looks. Both Siriano’s reputation of dressing celebrities who do not fit into conventional norms of fashion and beauty, and Porter’s desire to play with existing gender norms, fueled the creation of the design - which was realized over a week with a team that worked 18 hours a day to finalize the look.
The political statement which challenged norms of femininity and masculinity was explained by Billy Porter as the result of his interest to push the norms regarding red carpet fashion. Received positively by a wide range of fashion critics, it is accredited to be one of the Oscars red carpet’s biggest style moments.
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