Whilst the main focus of the Oscars is to celebrate the talents of the cinematic world, it also the opportunity for nominees and guests to adorn the red carpet in the most sort after garments and designers.
Every year there is at least one remarkable statement on the red carpet, and this year it was the one and only Natalie Portman.
Making both a fashion and feminist statement, Natalie Portman wore a custom Dior gown with a matching cape that featured the surnames of all female directors who were not nominated embroidered along the edges, including the likes of Little Women director Greta Gerwig.
Other female directors not nominated for the Best Director Award included Lorene Scafaria (Hustlers), Lulu Wang (The Farewell), Mati Diop (Atlantics), Marielle Heller (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood), Melina Matsoukas (Queen & Slim), Alma Har’el (Honey Boy) and CĆ©line Sciamma (Portrait of a Lady on Fire).
In Oscarās history, only five women have been nominated for āBest Directorā with Kathryn Bigelow being the only female winner as director for Hurt Locker back in 2010. With this in mind, Natalie Portman clearly wanted to make a stand, representing all of the female directors that deserved recognition for their work.
Speaking to a red-carpet reporter, she said: āI wanted to recognise the women who are not recognised for their incredible work this year in a subtle way.ā
It is fair to say that whilst Portman chose a āsubtleā way to accredit those female directors not nominated, the impact is far from it, causing tremendous responses on social media with one fan tweeting:
And this is not the first time that she has taken one for the female-team and spoken out against inequality in the industry. At the Golden Globes in 2018, when presenting the award for the best director category, Portman said: āAnd here are the all-male nominees.ā
This was a monumental moment in the art industry and this Oscars moment is now another pivotal point for gender equality. However, Portman has come under some fire as people have recognised that her production company has only ever hired one female director – Portman herself.
Whilst some are now labeling the Oscar-winner a hypocrite, I for one know that her intentions were far from hypocritical. As an advocate for the revolution of gender equality, Portman has definitely done the job this time by literally sharing the names of those who have gone unrecognised this year for all the world to see.
Despite being a subtle fashion statement, the cape has instantly become an iconic piece, which will hopefully continue the ticker to move even closer to equality in an apparent male-dominated category and keep the conversation of celebration across genders going.
By Shannon Mountford