LOS ANGELES — The 77th annual Academy Award nominations are out, and so the competition to dress Hollywood’s A-list is on with all the ferocity of a NASCAR race.
“Oh my God, I have to call Catalina!” shrieked stylist Jessica Paster when told that her client, Colombian-beauty Catalina Sandino Moreno, was nominated for best actress. Win or lose, she just might transcend her screen performance with the right dress.
The same could happen for other relative unknown nominees such as Sophie Okonedo, or even veterans Virginia Madsen and Imelda Staunton.
“It’s an absolutely important moment for Catalina,” Paster said. “This could be a breakout moment for her.”
The stress is on, still, no matter the actress’ star power. “It’s still pressure, even with Cate [Blanchett, another Paster client] because she always looks flawless, so there’s a standard to maintain.”
Pretend all you want that the Oscars are only about the art of cinema. It’s the frolic of the frocks that helps draw the billion-plus viewers worldwide to this ultimate of red carpet showcases.
The Golden Globes proved that not every star needs to play it safe: Natalie Portman in her Chloé “tux” gown; Diane Kruger in that toga-like sari from Marchesa; even Blanchett in the periwinkle Jean Gaultier Couture stood apart from the Duchesse satin deluge.
“There was so much glamour at the Globes that there has to be a lot more of it at the Oscars,’’ said stylist Rachel Zoe Rosenzweig. “But we’re going to see it at another level.
“We’re going to see a lot of couture because it’s going on right now,” Rosenzweig continued, noting those collections became all the more key when the Academy Awards were bumped up a month in 2004. “We’re going to see dresses literally plucked from the runways, also from the upcoming ready-to-wear shows.”
New York stylist Kate Young, whose clients are Hilary Swank and Portman, believes it’s something in fashion and the culture at large that is causing the incessant tendency to recycle looks of Hollywood’s Golden Era — think Scarlett Johansson in Roland Mouret channeling Marilyn Monroe at the Globes.
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“This is a turning point in fashion as we wait for the next strong designer voices to emerge so people are looking back,’’ Young said. “That, along with movies conjuring up other eras, like ‘The Aviator,’ or the success of the Vanity Fair-Oscar book [‘Oscar Night: 75 Years of Hollywood Parties,’ published by the magazine and Giorgio Armani].”
Like most stylists with potential award show-bound clients, Young began the process months ago, discussing concepts with the actresses and possible designers with whom they would like to work.
“Natalie [Portman] lives in Israel, so it’s a little more complicated because we can’t have her go to showrooms or have fittings so we have to be a little more organized,” Young said.
As for Swank, a contract with Calvin Klein means the actress will be working with the house’s designer, Francisco Costa, as she did for the Globes.
Contractual agreements between fashion and fine jewelry brands and the celebrities they hire to appear in their ad campaigns are becoming more common. But they aren’t guarantees.
Every time No.5 poster girl Nicole Kidman wears anything other than Chanel, which is much of the time, fashion watchers go mad with conjecture about why, as was the case with the teal Gucci she squeezed into for the Globes.
Swank, as well as Charlize Theron, turned up at the Globes sparkling in Chopard, a jeweler that another top actress said had approached her with a six-figure deal to wear its pieces to both major award shows. She declined, and Chopard denied any formal contracts with any of the actresses it dressed.
Gifting and contracts are a new phenomenons, since stars once flaunted the latest acquisitions for which they or their lovers paid.
“It’s getting to the point where everyone is forced to spend money to level the playing field,’’ griped a publicist for a major jeweler. “I’m so disenchanted with this whole thing.”
Paster agreed: “If something is gorgeous, no one should have to pay an actress to wear it.”
SOME KEY OSCAR NOMINATIONS
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Annette Bening, “Being Julia”
Catalina Sandino Moreno, “Maria Full of Grace”
Imelda Staunton, “Vera Drake”
Hilary Swank, “Million Dollar Baby”
Kate Winslet, “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Cate Blanchett, “The Aviator”
Laura Linney, “Kinsey”
Virginia Madsen, “Sideways”
Sophie Okonedo, “Hotel Rwanda”
Natalie Portman, “Closer”
Costume Design
Sandy Powell, “The Aviator”
Alexandra Byrne, “Finding Neverland”
Colleen Atwood, “Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events”
Sharen Davis, “Ray”
Bob Ringwood, “Troy”
Makeup
Valli O’Reilly and Bill Corso, “Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events”
Keith VanderLaan and Christien Tinsley, “The Passion of the Christ”
Jo Allen and Manuel García, “The Sea Inside”
What: 77th Academy Awards
When: 8 p.m. EST, Sunday, Feb. 27
Where: Kodak Theatre, Hollywood
TV: ABC
Host: Chris Rock