Once upon a time in Ancient Greece, Antisthenes, a pupil of Gorgias the sophist, took the palm of beauty from Argive Helen and handed it to poor Penelope. Much the same happened on Sunday night outside the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, when Oscars pre-show host Robin Roberts declared that Mahershala Ali and Naomie Harris – not Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone – were the best dressed male and female on the red carpet.
In a strange echo of events barely transpired, at the culmination of the awards ceremony itself – which marked the 89th presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences – Ali and Harris’ film, Moonlight, directed by Barry Jenkins and depicting three stages in the life of a young man who battles within the drug trade while navigating his own sexuality, won the Oscar for Best Picture, but only after the initial announcement credited Gosling and Stone’s La La Land.
The fudge was the fault of accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, apparently too concerned with tweeting out photos of the stars as they handed presenter Warren Beatty the incorrect envelope. Beatty was visibly perturbed, but Faye Dunaway read out the wrong winner regardless, and the La La Land cast and crew took to the stage before the mistake was recognised.
Moonlight eventually received its due, but the controversy and commotion was overshadowed by what occurred earlier on the red carpet. During the presentation, Emma Stone – wearing a gold Swarovski-embroidered gown, designed by Riccardo Tisci for Givenchy and falling in tiered fringes – emerged as a clear favourite. Meanwhile on the men’s side of the best-dressed stakes, Ryan Gosling in a shawl collar Gucci tux and ruffled shirt by Anto appeared dapper as ever.
Just as audiences have flocked to what has been billed as a feel-good revival of the age-old musical, many viewers watching the pre-show at home had all but crowned the well-liked familiar couple. But it was Roberts, the Good Morning America anchor who has curried favour on the red carpet for seven years running, who was allowed the final verdict.
And to scant surprise given the quality of the garments, she declared Harris and Ali the best-dressed victors, in the process stripping Stone and Gosling figuratively if not literally. Quel dommage – what a pity! Naomie Harris wore a white sequinned body-skimming gown with a train, designed for Calvin Klein by new creative officer Raf Simons, while Mahershala Ali went all in black with a shawl collar Ermenegildo Zegna Couture tuxedo. But in the end, didn’t they all look lovely?
