Official Spokesperson for Gen Z, Olivia Rodrigo, has had the best year ever. Three smash hits, critical and cultural acclaim and influence, invites to pretty much every one of the biggest events in Hollywood — and she did it all with the loving embrace of the internet. Rodrigo has made the late ‘90s / Y2K styling a la Gwen Stefani and Britney Spearks a core of her brand — I’m still recovering from the pink plaid Clueless-inspired matching set she wore to the White House — but at the 2021 Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Opening Gala in Los Angeles over the weekend, fans got a look at Olivia Rodrigo 2.0, and she looks like a grown-ass adult.
Wearing a plunging, chest-baring black Saint Laurent gown, Rodrigo showed that there is another element to the Little Black Dress. Go-to hairstylist Clayton Hawkins pulled her hair back into a center-parted low chignon, with soft, elegant face-framing tendrils. She wore no jewelry, just a pair of simple black sandals — keeping it light and simple. But what truly stood out in this very elegant, understated look — especially for someone who embraces an accessory like Rodrigo — was the glowy skin, the nearly bare just-eyeliner eye, and a classic, blue-red lip from YSL Beauty, because makeup artist Molly Greenwald knows to keep it all in the family. Finishing it off is a milky pink sheer nail created by celebrity nail artist Betina Goldstein, just adding to the “young ingenue taking the world stage” energy of the entire fit. If this red lip + understated look is going to be the ethos for Sour 2.0 or Extra Sour, or Sour Punch Straws, whatever Rodrigo’s next era will be, sign me up.
Oh, and the Saint Laurent dress she wore? It had pockets. We all have to make note when a dress has pockets.
