It’s been seven years since Emma Stone last graced the Oscars red carpet. In that time, the industry has encountered a global pandemic, a historic SAG-AFTRA strike and the release of one of the most outrageously surreal films of the 21st Century—Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things. Stone helms the absurdist black comedy as Bella Baxter, which is why she’s returned to the 96th annual Academy Awards in a sculptural fantasy ripped right off the screen (and her character’s wardrobe.)
Arriving at Hollywood Boulevard’s Dolby Theatre, Stone has leant into the grandiose and dream-like qualities of the film in a whimsically shaped aquamarine gown from Louis Vuitton. Though Anya Taylor-Joy’s Dior dress directly referenced Bottecilli’s Birth Of Venus, it’s apparent creative director Nicolas Ghesquière took inspiration from the Renaissance-rendering of mythology. In magnetic seafoam, Stone appeared as reborn and abreast of the world as the on-screen character she was nominated for the Best Actress award.
The gown itself featured a mint jacquard fabric manipulated into a strapless corset silhouette. The bodice of the dress featured boning that sculpted her waist and protruded into an elongated peplum hem shaped to the style of a seashell. Bella has sleeves, Emma has hems—go figure!
Speaking during the red carpet pre-ceremony interview, Stone spoke on the significance of her character. “I just see her as someone filled with so much curiosity and joy,” she revealed. “Obviously this is a metaphor, it’s not based on a true story and can’t really happen. But that idea of if you were never small and fragile and you could explore the world freely, what would you be and who would you become? If you were just able to freely lean into pleasure and to have too much food and experiences or not enough. She just gets to experience everything in a way that I don’t know many people ever do so it was incredible to play.”
It’s clear that playing Bella has endowed Stone with a sense of confidence and self-assuredness not previously seen in her body of work. What a beautiful thing to behold.
Stone is up against her fellow stone, Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon), Sandra Hüller (Anatomy of a Fall), Carey Mulligan, (Maestro) and Annette Bening (Nyad) for the ‘Best Actress’ award.
