Dress Drama: Julia Roberts broke an unwritten Oscars rule in 2001
It would be very rare to read a ‘Best Oscars Dress Of All Time’ list and not see Julia Roberts wearing Valentino on it. In 2001, Julia Roberts was nominated for Best Actress for her role in Erin Brockovich. The 73rd Academy Awards ceremony was unforgettable for Julia, just like the dress she wore that night. Julia would win the gold statue and the hearts of carpet watchers all around the world.
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Her black and white Valentino gown would go on to be known as one of the most iconic Oscars dresses of all time, and for more reasons than one. Except did you know the real story behind the dress and the fact that Julia broke an unwritten Oscars fashion rule?
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At the Oscars in 2001, Julia pulled off her most iconic red carpet look of all time. For the biggest night in showbiz, the soon-to-be Oscar-winning actress wore one of the titans of red carpet glamour, Valentino.
Her Valentino dress oozed classic glamour and was a dramatic mix of velvet-and-satin with an attention-grabbing line of white satin piping running down the V-neckline dress. This was not your basic black dress, far from it. The delightful details such as the peekaboo panel on the bust and tulle fishtail train finished off with strips of white satin all worked together to make a true classic. She accessorised her dress with a classic Van Cleef and Arpels diamond bracelet and cluster earrings. She kept her makeup quite paired back and swept her hair up into a sleek style chignon. All topped off with her megawatt smile, of course.
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With all the coverage the Oscars get nowadays, it’s hard to imagine anyone really being surprised by a gown. But, Julia Roberts’ Oscar dress stunned the world. It was truly classic, yes, because of its old-Hollywood style, but also by the fact that it was actually a vintage dress.
One of the original supermodels Helena Christensen had worn the dress first as part of Valentino’s AW92 couture presentation. The collection was inspired by classic Hollywood and Helena reportedly reminded Valentino Garavani of the 1930s screen siren Heddy Lamarr. Another super came after, as Christy Turlington graced the pages of Harper’s Bazaar October 1992 edition wearing the magical monochrome number. The publication called it ‘the most glamorous gown’ at the time. How fitting that Julia would wear it on the biggest night of her career on and make Oscar’s fashion history wearing the gown too?
