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Carey Mulligan’s body of work has proved the Academy Award-nominated actress is capable of embodying any character trope. We’re not alone in this opinion, but we here at GRAZIA believe Mulligan’s strength lies in her period pieces—from the lavishly fickle Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby to the puerile Kitty Bennet in Pride & Prejudice and her most recent project, the mid-century actress Felicia Montealegre in Bradley Cooper’s Maestro.
Of course, it’s not just her performances in these dramas that prove she’s made for exemplifying those times, or her lack of ‘iPhone face’ for that matter, too. Rather, it’s her ability to seamlessly embrace the styles of yore, model them onscreen and make the archival silhouettes enviable. Such is the case for Mulligan’s 2024 Oscars look—a custom recreation of a vintage Balenciaga gown from 1951.
In a homage to the interval of 20th Century Americana covered in Maestro, Mulligan and her stylist Andrew Mukumal worked with the French luxuriate’s atelier to recreate an original piece designed by Cristobal Balenciaga in the very year her character married the titular virtuoso, Leonard Bernstein.
The gown itself was rendered to the exact silhouette initially produced in the 50s, with a strapless sweetheart neckline sculpting Mulligan’s body in black velveteen. The bodice cinched her waist before developing into a cartoonish couture mermaid train characterised by a scalloped hem and contrasting white tulle.
Touching on the dress, Mulligan remarked about the honour of wearing the first archival gown ever recreated by Balenciaga. “It’s the most incredible shape and so classic, but feels really modern,” she said. “It just feels amazing to wear, and not constrictive; I’m not going to be sitting there holding my breath for three hours.”
Fittingly, Maestro’s nominations at the 2024 Oscars came almost seven decades after the real-life Leonard Bernstein made his Academy Awards debut in 1955. (He was nominated for ‘Best Original Score’ at the time.) Though, as it was for the conductor, neither Cooper nor Mulligan walked home with the award in their respective categories.
Instead, the ceremony drew the months-long campaign tour to a close, meaning that Mulligan will take a well-deserved hiatus. If she’s looking for a new project, may we suggest a role in Netflix’s upcoming adaptation of The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo? She’d be delicious across from Jessica Chastain!
Watch the trailer for Maestro below:
