Janelle Monae in Robert Wun
So dramatic, so striking, so ideal if you do not want people getting up in your grill all night. I would not have thought of the Academy Museum Gala as a place to get funky-experimental, but I'm certainly not upset. Let A.Dubs quake in her sensible Prada slingbacks!
Janelle Monae
This will be VERY complicated during bathroom breaks. I hope she has a trusted ally in that building.
Janelle Monae
"Don't look at me but ARE YOU LOOKING AT MEEEE." (Yes, I do know she's actually just hitting magazine poses here.)
Jodie Turner-Smith in Mugler
Again, I really love it, and also would never have expected it here. She could be leading the flight crew on an avant-garde airline. I suspect that hat got annoying though; it seems to be sliding around over her eye. But, she's one of a select few who could wear this well.
Cailee Spaenyin valentino
If you covered up the bottom of this gown, you'd be like, "... is that it?" The top seems pinchy, and very little actual styling seems to have been attempted. Her makeup is very pretty, at least.
Cailee Spaeny
But from this angle, it's great, because the dress really takes over. The way the pleats sit up like that is wonderful – like a preening sea creature.
Cailee Spaeny
And, from the back, it's whimsical. This is one of the more successful fusions of Alessandro Michele's style with Valentino's previous regime.
Teyana Taylor in Schiaparelli
If this looks familiar, it's because Law flew the white version from the runway to Zendaya for The Odyssey. This is a different one from the same show. As usual, I recognize the artistry in it, while also thinking it looks a bit alien (probably intentional) and uncomfortable (perhaps not).
Camila Cabello in vintage 1998 D&G
So, many will dispute that this is weird or wild, but I tossed it in here because once I noticed the Crotch People, they felt very eerie to me. I don't want anyone's crotch trying to make eye contact with me.
Law Roach in Gaurav Gupta and vintage Phillip Treacy (hat)
For a hot second I thought this was Cher's Oscar lid, but no. Hers was much fuller. I enjoy the theatricality here, but it does look like someone magically embiggened one of those annoying little furry mics influencers hold in their videos.
Rhea Seehorn in Balenciaga
In the second season of Pluribus, Carol becomes a mythical half-woman, half-gorilla.
Tinashe in Agro Studio
This is way too many ideas, and they're all yelling at each other.
Clairo in Valentino
A boob bib is just practical at a party like this. You don't want to drop a chunk of tuna tartare onto your own nipple.
Esmé Creed-Miles in Chloe
These shorts just look so silly to me.
Stephanie Hsu
Every single decision anyone made here was regrettable. Was this designed by Etch-a-Sketch?
Rosé in Saint Laurent
This isn't revolutionary weirdness or anything, but it looks cumbersome, a take borne out when I saw footage of her trying to gather it to walk inside with Connor Storrie. It's just a messy blob of a gown.
Chrissy Teigen in Andrew Kwon
This looks like someone made two tiny fascinators and glued them together and onto her boobs. And it needs a hoik. The skirt deserved so much better.
Amandla Stenberg in Zimmermann
This IS wild. And busy. I had called this for Greta Lee, for some reason. (That reason: PURE RANDOM GUESSWORK.) In the context of the show, this was intriguing, but here it just seems overwhelming – and maybe looks like her final Parsons project was "nature scrapbook."
Iris Law
She looks like a sentient wastebasket full of Kleenex, from the last time you had a horrible head cold.
Alexander Skarsgard
For some reason, I find this hilarious. Even the way he's standing, he looks like Murderbot has been binging the Seinfeld puffy shirt episode.
Odessa A'Zion in archival Armani
I would NEVER have pegged this as Armani – those archives are apparently a hoot? This is such a bizarre melange but it has a ton of personality, and it's different than her usual dark and dreary aesthetic. I think I like it for that reason, even if on its own merits, I'm confused.
Charlize Theron in Tom Ford
Must we?
Grace Gummer in Dior
I honestly don't like ANY of this, including the color(s), and I don't know what Jonathan Anderson was doing.
Janelle
Okay, here's what I was talking about with the photographer setup. Why is someone marooned up here, taking photos from a great height, with event employees stuck in frame? This is not useful for ANYONE, except I guess if that guy is excited to be on a website today. (Hi, sir, love the gold!)
Heather