I’d always remembered that Michelle Yeoh, everlasting goddess of the red carpet, showed up for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, in what is effectively crystal tiger-stripes. I did not, however, remember that was 2001 — again, the same year as Julia’s and Bjork’s indelible ensembles. It’s truly weird that my brain held these three things for twenty years, without ever absorbing that they were concurrent. I suspect that does not say great things for well my little grey cells are working. Regardless: I love this on Michelle so much. She looks sexy and powerful and incredible, and she is still all of those things.
But unfortunately, I did not remember Zhang Ziyi’s outfit; in fact, I only found it this time because the photo service mislabeled two of her photos as “Michelle Yeoh,” so they came up when I went fishing for the tiger-dress photo. Behold THIS work of wonder:
I’m speechless. That is incredible. It is one of the most perfect dresses — the fit, the colors, the pattern, all resplendent on the wearer — and yet I don’t think I’ve ever seen it on an all-time-best list. It should be. It’s magnificent. Do you get the sense that I like it? Because I do, you know.
I don’t have a credit for either dress — well, I believe Michelle’s crystals were from Bulgari, but that’s all I’ve got — and that’s a terrible shame, because they should be shouted from the rooftops. Especially this one. Thankfully, I will never forget it again.
