Top Red Carpet Statement Dresses

In the entertainment world each year brings highly anticipated award shows such as The Golden Globes, Screen Actor Guild including the upcoming Oscars, BAFTAs, Brits and The Grammys. It’s an exciting time for entertainers and fans alike; we can’t wait to see who is nominated, who ends up winning and with a unique merge with the fashion world, which designers will be featured on the red carpet by our favourite celebrities.

“Who wore what?” Red carpets and award shows alike always pique the interest of the Sassi PR office as we enjoy discussing our favourite red carpet looks. Inevitably and in good nature the discussion delves quite philosophically and theoretically into the history of fashion on the red carpet and a deep discussion on trends, styles and designers which resulted in our favourite, most impactful statement red carpet dresses.

Elizabeth Hurley in Versace’s ‘Safety Pin’ dress is truly one of the most iconic dresses of all time. Accompanying then boyfriend Hugh Grant to the premiere of ‘4 Weddings and a Funeral’, Elizabeth Hurley was a struggling actress at the time and never before had someone been elevated to celebrity superstardom overnight by wearing a dress and for that reason the infamous ‘Safety Pin’ dress makes our list.

On what was a historic night at the 74th Annual Academy Awards Halle Berry wore a daringly beautiful Elie Saab creation that made just as much impact as her win for Best Actress. Relatively unknown until then Elie Saab’s racy yet chic embroidered design was a match made in heaven when he dressed Halle Berry for the Oscars in 2002.

Queen of burlesque Dita von Teese was probably the only person in the world who could pull off Jean Paul Gaultier’s Spring 2009 Couture sheer dress. Leaving very little to the imagination Dita pulled the look off with ease with sophistication at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival amfAR Cinema Against AIDS Benefit.

Beyoncé sure knows how to make a statement and boy did this dress make a statement. Receiving a mixed reaction, the Georgio Armani beaded creation did what it was made to do. Changing outfits more times than anyone could count that night this one was the best, enhancing her figure and creating an impact. And what better way to make an impact than wearing that dress and picking up a record six Grammys!

Versace makes the list again and why wouldn’t it when the dress in question was worn by Jennifer Lopez at the 2000 Grammys. Donatella did for Jennifer what Gianni did for Elizabeth when she dressed J.Lo in the sheer green rainforest design with the dangerously low plunging neckline. It made history and just goes to show why Versace is one of the most iconic fashion houses when it comes to creating couture that pushes visual boundaries like that.

No fashion list would be complete without everyone’s best friend Sarah Jessica Parker. In an Alexander McQueen creation paying homage to the designer’s roots, SJP was a perfect fit for the design at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Benefit Gala: Anglomania 2006. It looks to be a simple dress and without the clever use of tartan draped across it would have not made the same impact. A true work of genius.

The bizarre but unique concept was daringly executed at a time when the world was reeling from the financial crisis and here were these two crazy designers who refused to let any financial woes deter them from creating masterpieces. “The Amsterdam Chainsaw Massacre” is what Viktor & Rolf’s Spring 2010 collection was lovingly called and with the insane creations that were displayed on the runway it was hard to envision it on the red carpet… but on the red carpet it came… enter Rihanna!!!  Donning an outrageous creation to the 2010 Grammy Awards pre-party; with an unmatched fierceness the stylish pop star was the ideal celebrity and probably the only celebrity who could pull this off.

With the heavyweight award shows yet to come, we’ll be looking forward to see who makes the biggest impact with their choice in wardrobe. Red carpet is probably the only occasion where celebrities can create the biggest impact, so we can’t wait to see what’s in store for us this Spring.

As fashion lovers we salute those brave enough to let their dresses do the talking; after all the design that speaks volumes will for sure go down in history as a true work of art!

A Match made in ‘Fashion Heaven’

We were so excited when we got confirmation that Lanvin pronounced “I do” to team up with H&M to bring luxury men and womenswear collections to 200 stores worldwide.  As one of the worlds most sought after designers of the moment, Lanvin has sent us into fashion frenzy; who would have expected the two opposites to attract?

Lanvin is not the only high fashion designer in recent years to collaborate with H&M to create exclusive collections for the high street store.  Stella McCartney, Karl Lagerfield,  Jimmy Choo, Viktor & Rolf and Sonia Rykiel have already raised the bar and successfully infiltrated the stylish wardrobes of fashion followers who live for their favourite high street brands and love the exclusive touch from top designers.

So what can we expect?  Well … Lanvin will very much be sticking to his signature tailoring styles with the core focus to accentuate on form fitting and attention to detail. The new styles should catapult any notions of high street fashion out of the window and create a winter fashion army worthy of any street walking catwalk.

The collaboration intrigued Alber Elbaz as he described the idea of “H&M going luxury rather than Lanvin going public”.  We love the idea that H&M wants to upgrade the calibre of their collections and Lanvin is creating phenomenal exposure.

But we will have to wait until the new range is unveiled in an exciting film preview on 2 November which we highly anticipate will be a wonderful surprise of what to expect when the collection officially hits the high street stores on 23 November.