It would be very rare to read a ‘Best Oscars Dress Of All Time’ list and not see Julia Roberts wearing Valentino on it.
In 2001, Julia Roberts was nominated for Best Actress for her role in Erin Brockovich. The 73rd Academy Awards ceremony was unforgettable for Julia, just like the dress she wore that night. Julia would win the gold statue and the hearts of carpet watchers all around the world.
Her black and white Valentino gown would go on to be known as one of the most iconic Oscars dresses of all time, and for more reasons than one. Except did you know the real story behind the dress and the fact that Julia broke an unwritten Oscars fashion rule?
JULIA ROBERTS. PIC: MIREK TOWSKI/FILMMAGIC
Her Valentino dress oozed classic glamour and was a dramatic mix of velvet-and-satin with an attention-grabbing line of white satin piping running down the V-neckline dress.
This was not your basic black dress, far from it. The delightful details such as the peekaboo panel on the bust and tulle fishtail train finished off with strips of white satin all worked together to make a true classic.
She accessorised her dress with a classic Van Cleef and Arpels diamond bracelet and cluster earrings. She kept her makeup quite paired back and swept her hair up into a sleek style chignon. All topped off with her megawatt smile, of course.
JULIA ROBERTS. PIC: LEE CELANO/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
With all the coverage the Oscars get nowadays, it’s hard to imagine anyone really being surprised by a gown. But, Julia Roberts’ Oscar dress stunned the world. It was truly classic, yes, because of its old-Hollywood style, but also by the fact that it was actually a vintage dress
One of the original supermodels Helena Christensen had worn the dress first as part of Valentino’s AW92 couture presentation. The collection was inspired by classic Hollywood and Helena reportedly reminded Valentino Garavani of the 1930s screen siren Heddy Lamarr.
Another super came after, as Christy Turlington graced the pages of Harper’s Bazaar October 1992 edition wearing the magical monochrome number. The publication called it ‘the most glamorous gown’ at the time.
How fitting that Julia would wear it on the biggest night of her career on and make Oscar’s fashion history wearing the gown too?
JULIA ROBERTS AND BENJAMIN BRATT. PIC: GETTY IMAGES
Yes, Julia broke an unspoken rule at the Oscars by rejecting the tradition of having a new gown custom-made for her, then an awards-show rarity.
While there is a new spirit of sustainable dressing emerge on the red carpet over the last few years, 2001 really was a watershed year and Julia Roberts is cited with inspiring the trend of vintage dresses on the red carpet.
She wasn’t the only one, Winona Ryder quietly lead the charge wearing a ’40s-era Pauline Trigere gown to the Oscar’s the year before. While Renée Zellweger also opted for vintage at the Oscars in 2001, looking like a ray of sunshine in a canary yellow 1959 chiffon dress by French designer Jean Dessès.
JULIA ROBERTS. PIC: TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
Still, her elegant vintage Valentino column had a major fashion impact. Amber Jane Butchart, a fashion historian told The Guardian that the 2000s marked a key time for what she calls ‘vintage acceptance’.
‘Seeing A-list stars on the red carpet helped to transition secondhand clothes into vintage style,’ she told the publication in 2016.
It helped to debunk the associations with vintage clothing, and specifically second-hand glamour, by showing that a vintage gown could hold just as power and feel as exclusive as something that’s been custom-designed.
JULIA ROBERTS AND RUSSELL CROWE. PIC: JIM SMEAL/RON GALELLA COLLECTION VIA GETTY IMAGES
It was Julia’s third time being nominated for an Oscar, she’d previously been nominated for Steel Magnolias and Pretty Woman.
Julia took to the stage to accept her Oscar for Best Actress, beating out frontrunners like Juliette Binoche for Chocolate and Ellen Burstyn for Requiem for a Dream.
While on stage the beautiful brunette exclaimed: ‘I love it up here!’. Then with a quick note to the orchestra conductor, she said: ‘You’re so quick with that stick, but why don’t you just sit, I may never be here again.’
JULIA ROBERTS. PIC: TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
Recently, Valentino himself credited the moment as a highlight of his nearly 50-year-long career. He told The Telegraph: ‘I have dressed so many people but I have to be sincere. The person that made me feel so very, very happy was Julia Roberts.’
‘When she got the Academy Award for Erin Brockovich I watched it on television and really I was so excited that she appeared in my dress,’ he continued.
In the documentary about his life and legacy in fashion, the revered designer explained: ‘That was the most sensational dress seen on a celebrity. It created the new fashion item, the vintage.’