When I polled my Who What Wear colleagues on the prettiest Oscars dresses of all time ahead of this year’s ceremony, one look emerged as a clear winner: the Balenciaga gown Carey Mulligan wore on the Academy Awards red carpet in 2024. The black and white strapless mermaid dress was a re-creation of a Cristobal Balenciaga design from 1951. The instant Mulligan’s photographs hit the wires that day, I knew she’d top everyone’s best-dressed list.
The look’s widespread popularity didn’t stop wannabe fashion critics from offering their hot takes, however. Some corners of social media dismiss re-creations of old designs as mere rehashes of the past. They argue that fashion should prioritize originality, fresh ideas, and innovation over nostalgia and familiar styles.
In our new April cover story, Mulligan responded to critics of the look. “I think there’s integrity in it,” she told Who What Wear. “I don’t think it’s just rehashing old ideas. There are so many old ideas or dresses from the past that don’t fit into our current context that would look odd. But if you find things that resonate again today, like that dress did, you’re giving it another chance, another go at the world, which I think it totally deserves, something so beautiful like that. There are so many dresses that wouldn’t fit that criteria, but that one did. I think artists should be inspired by great things created in the past.” Who can argue with that? Scroll down to revisit the look in question.
Revisit Carey Mulligan’s 2024 Oscars Dress by Balenciaga
(Image credit: Getty Images)
(Image credit: Getty Images)
(Image credit: Getty Images)
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