Emotions run wild at award ceremonies, and last night's 96th Academy Awards in Los Angeles was no exception. Da'Vine Joy Randolph took home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in "The Holdovers". Randolph, who played the school's head cook and bereaved mother Mary Lamb, alongside lead Paul Giamatti, stated, "I always wanted to be different. Now I realize I just need to be myself."
Finding oneself and appreciating one's true identity seems to be the trick to a happy life and in some cases identity was referenced also in the attire or in the accessories of the nominees.
Lily Gladstone, Best Actress nominee for her role in Martin Scorsese's "Killers of the Flower Moon," wore a custom gown in collaboration with Gucci Creative Director Sabato De Sarno and Indigenous designer Joe Big Mountain of Ironhorse Quillwork. Fans of the actress and of the quillwork technique may not afford a similar gown, but they can check out Joe Big Mountain's jewelry pieces on his Instagram page or on the Ironhorse Quillwork website.
Rather than notable gowns and accessories, some nominees donned a red pin from Artists4Ceasefire that featured an outstretched hand with a heart, symbolizing activism and a call for peace. Spotted already at the Grammy, BAFTA and SAG Awards, the pins express the artists' call for an end to the Israel-Hamas conflict, a safe return of all hostage and the delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
Billie Eilish, Finneas O'Connell, Ramy Youssef, and Ava DuVernay were among those spotted wearing the red "Ceasefire" pin at the Oscars. Over 400 members of the Hollywood entertainment industry reunited under the Artists4Ceasefire moniker, recently signed a letter addressed to US President Joe Biden and posted on the organization's website that urged an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Gaza and Israel.
Talking about conflicts, atomic bomb drama "Oppenheimer" dominated the awards (winning Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Directing, Cinematography, Film Editing, and Original Score), "Barbie" didn't fare as well, but it did secure Billie Eilish's "What Was I Made For?" the Best Song award (a prediction we made back in July).
Meanwhile, "Poor Things" also claimed multiple victories, including Best Production Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Costumes (this was expected as well), and Best Actress in a Leading Role for Emma Stone.
Margot Robbie became known for her method dressing techniques, often donning real clothes based on Barbie's original wardrobe during Barbie's press tour and in previous red carpet appearances. Stone did the same for a while, often appearing at events in gowns with leg-of-mutton and ballooning sleeves reminiscent of Bella Baxter in "Poor Things". Yet this time she left Bella beyond for a pale mint green Louis Vuitton gown (well, she's an ambassador for the French brand) that malfunctioned the minute she was called on stage to get her award and burst at the seams on her back (she humorously blamed Kenergy, courtesy of Ryan Gosling, who performed "I’m Just Ken" in a hot pink tuxedo).
However, some nominees took a different approach, channeling method dressing into accessories with unexpected and amusing results. Stepping onto the red carpet, the "Godzilla Minus One" team, consisting of director Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya (VFX supervisor and producer), Masaki Takahashi (veteran CG director), and the young Tatsuji Nojima (a 25-year-old visual effects artist and compositor), proudly posed for pictures carrying Godzilla figurines and showcasing their unique shoes with Godzilla claw heels.
Director Yamazaki had been sporting this distinctive style throughout the film's press run, even donning the black dress shoes at the Critics Choice Awards in Los Angeles. The four pairs of black shoes were created by Japanese designer Matsuki Ryosuke, known for incorporating sculpted hands into the heels of his shoe designs.
Ryosuke actually designed an entire capsule collection of Godzilla-themed products, ranging from T-shirts to shoes integrating in the heel Godzilla's spine or claw and even a perfume.
Some may argue that the monster heels weren't extremely original, after all they seem rather plain if you take away the claw heels (the men's version featured a zipper instead of laces, while Shibuya's donned Mary Janes). Besides, the idea of an overly decorated heel aligns perfectly with current trends (think of JW Anderson's conceptual Loewe heel designs or GCDS' Morso pumps with heels shaped like a snarling jaw that look a bit like Ryosuke's "Ready for Battle" shoes - who did it first?).
The noteworthy aspect, however, was not the specifics of the heels but the fact that the "Godzilla Minus One" team abandoned formalities for a gloriously hilarious moment of fun, reminding everyone not to take themselves too seriously. These whimsical shoes brought luck to the movie (the highest-grossing Japanese film ever released in the North American market), which secured the Best Visual Effects award at the Academy Awards.
It marked the first time that a Godzilla movie, the 37th in the series, had been nominated for and won an Oscar. Besides, Shibuya is also the third woman to win an Oscar in this category (previous recipients were Sara Bennett for 2014's "Ex Machina" and Suzanne M. Benson for 1986's "Aliens").
The achievement is particularly commendable considering the relatively small budget for a VFX-heavy feature film - less than $15 million. Yamazaki (who became the first director to receive an award in this category since Stanley Kubrick in 1969 for "2001: A Space Odyssey"), explained how cost-saving measures included him personally serving as the VFX supervisor and a team of just 35 people (who at times used also more traditional techniques, such as shaking a boat set to mimic ocean bobbing).
Last night the thematic monster shoes went viral, bringing joy to many faces. Whether the claw heel will become a trend among fans remains to be seen, but there's a possibility they might be embraced by ultra-fast fashion retailers (as it happened with GCDS' monster soles that were reproduced by Temu…). The lesson learned? Expressing team and collective spirit through irony.
Comments