Rihanna in Adam Selman. ’14.
It’s sheer, sure. But there’s much more to 2014 Style Icon of the Year’s outfit. Slinky Swarovski crystals, pink, offset RiRi’s skin; refusing to blend into the body, they righteously assert the dazzling dress over nudity.
Va-vooming the pink effect, is that stole. Practical as much as glamorous (we’ve heard sheer dresses are f_ing freezing). The cap, oozing the same sophistication, in diamente drapery, is a 20s hallmark.
Somewhat out of place in a nude do, its silken goodness emphasises the look’s inspiration, Josephine Baker. I mean, of course- her 20s roar and fearlessness bleed into the dress.
Rihanna also chooses pink Swarovski gloves, and large though simple jewellery (see ring and earrings), mirroring Josephine’s star girl nuance. Fun fact: Queen Ri also insisted on the headdress.
What makes this outfit different to every other sheer dress, at every other award season, that followed, is: it stands on its own; it doesn’t scream skin, rather: whispers pink crystals, admittedly emboldened by a naked torso.
Vis-a-vis lashings of legendary Josephine Baker, known for her cheeky (forgive the pun) flapper fashion.
To that end- the one thing Rihanna regrets most about the dress- not wearing a sparkling thong.
Embed from Getty ImagesDanielle Deadwyler in Prada. ’23.
You may not believe but intellectual Prada does pink nicely. * And then you see this number.
Up-and-down glamour as scattered light. The fuchsia sheen, wrapped, by wrinkled effect under the knee, plays the light.
The structure, a traditional bateau collar, framing a floor length gown, is subtly textured by wrinkles; the wrinkles? Add depth to pink veneer; and the pink, our line-of-sight bullseye, gives Old Glamour, dominating any imperfection.
Old glamour; another implication by the wrinkles? Perhaps, the wrinkles vibe a bit stepped-back, a bit lackadaisical.
Turning down the voltage, gives easy, “I just showed up”- that one person not trying in the room, but brimming with glamour.
Linda Evangelista in Dior by John Galliano. ’95.
Linda Evangelista: “this dress is my favourite”. Perhaps because it’s her first haute couture gown: her first major fashion fantasy. Galliano, an epic couturier, piling tulle-on-tulle, for this: fairytale princess.
With edge. After all, not every princess wears a flashy corset, plastered in bird feathers.
Nonetheless the garb’s buttercream hue returns us to pure whimsy, soft but independent. In this way, the dress seems torn in two different directions, but, at its heart, a fairytale.
Fun fact: Linda shot in this dress for Harper’s Bazaar, abreast a bed of sailors- DIY fairytale indeed.
Three- some looks 
Leave a comment