9 Surprising Facts About the Most Talked-About Oscars Dresses

Who wore a vintage dress on the red carpet? Who has secret weights sewn into her gown? Everything you wanted to know about the boldest looks from this year's Academy Awards
By Catherine Kast
February 28, 2017 04:53 PM

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NAOMIE HARRIS

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There are weights sewn into the hem!

Calvin Klein’s Raf Simons took an important step to guarantee a stellar red carpet moment: “The train of the dress has weights sewn into the hem so it lays flat,” says Nola Singer, who styled the Moonlight star with Laura Jones. 

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EMMA STONE

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Her dress took 1,700 hours to make — and was almost a different color!

“Originally Emma had envisioned silver,” the Best Actress winner’s stylist Petra Flannery says of the Givenchy Haute Couture gown that took a team of 11 more than 1,700 hours to make. “But we went with gold once we saw the beautiful shades combined with her hair color and complexion.” This look will also serve as an important fashion milestone. “We found out it would be Riccardo Tisci’s last couture dress he will make for the Givenchy house, which makes it even more special.”

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OCTAVIA SPENCER

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This look was inspired by several glamorous red carpet  moments!

According to the Hidden Figures nominee’s longtime stylists Wendi and Nicole Ferriera, this custom Marchesa piece (which took over 700 hours to make!) was inspired by Penélope Cruz’s 2012 Oscars look, Naomi Watts at the Cannes Film Festival in 2015, and Elizabeth Taylor’s 1970 Oscars moment. “As far as the color,” they say, “We were inspired by moonstones.”

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VIOLA DAVIS

The gown was almost orange (and she had comfy back-up shoes)!

“This dress is Viola to a ‘T,'” her stylist Elizabeth Stewart tells PeopleStyle of this Armani Privé gown. “Clean lines, easy, strong!” At first, the Best Supporting Actress winner had a different idea for the color: “Viola wanted strong and simple,” Stewart says. “She thought of orange but fell in love with this red swatch.” Davis loved the color so much, she had platform sneakers waiting for her to change into backstage. Because, you know, comfort.

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KIRSTEN DUNST

Her dress was commissioned based on a Christian Dior dress from 1952!

According to the star’s stylists, Nina and Clare Hallworth, Dunst’s custom black silk faille gown was inspired by the “Sonnet” dress from Christian Dior’s Autumn/Winter Haute Couture collection from 1952. “Dior re-imagined Christian’s dress at our request for Ms. Dunst,” says Clare. Pockets and the impeccable construction make it feel modern. Another fun fact: Dunst wore these with her old favorite Christian LaCroix heels, which she’s worn more than six times on the red carpet in the past decade!

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PRIYANKA CHOPRA

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It took more than 90 meters of fabric to make!

The detailing on the star’s Ralph & Russo Couture gown only looks quilted; those metallic and glitter shapes are actually all hand-appliquéd. And they’re made up of around 90 meters of organza fabric, or 18,000 hand-cut squares. 

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HALLE BERRY

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It was the most-Googled dress of Oscars night!

The presenter’s daring Atelier Versace design was the most searched-for during the red carpet, which just might’ve lead to the 1,350% spike in searches for Halle Berry on Oscar night. Want to see more of the clickiest dresses? See the the rest of the top 10 searched looks here.

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JANELLE MONÁE

The little details are a nod to her fave black-and-white palette!

The sparrows that cover the Moonlight star’s Elie Saab Haute Couture gown are made of sequins, stones and feathers that are naturally white with black stripes, which totally fit with Monae’s signature monochrome colorway. 

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EMMA ROBERTS

It’s vintage!

The actress took Suzy Amis Cameron’s “Red Carpet Green Dress Challenge” and selected a dress from Giorgio Armani’s 2005 archives. Recycling is totally chic! 

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