How Celebrities Have Made an Impression at the BAFTAs, Golden Globes, Oscars and Other Awards
Photo from 2021 red carpet awards @thewestwoodarchives on IG
What have Margot Robbie, Bradley Cooper, Cillian Murphy, Emma Stone, Rosamund Pike, and Michael J Fox got in common? Yes, it’s that time of year – The BAFTAs (The British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards). Many consider the BAFTAs a warm-up for the Oscars (rude), which happens in March this year; if we follow that analogy, then The Golden Globes is an amuse-bouche for the BAFTAs, making the Palme d’Or an after-dinner liqueur (probably crème de menthe).
Anyone who is anyone involved in the film industry knows that The BAFTAs, The Academy Awards (Oscars), The Golden Globes, and even The Palme d’Or (Cannes Film Festival) are the most important awards and showcases, for the film industry and those related to it.
While fans speculate over ‘The Best Film’ or Actress award, the most important accolade and the most interesting, has to be the award for Best Costume Designer – actually, no, what we’re really interested in is what the celebs wear on the red carpet, the more outrageous and ridiculous the better, taste is no doubt a personal matter but in some cases, NO taste was undoubtedly on the design notes.
We all remember the Lady Gaga meat dress, although not the details. How long did that dress hang before Lady G could wear it? Or Rosamund Pike’s vintage black lace Dior gown and matching hat worn at this year’s Golden Globes. After appearing in the controversial film Saltburn, Rosamund’s choice of dress is not unusual; it’s the hat, the fascinator, that has social media buzzing.
Goodness me, the hat is horrible – how to kill an outfit and possibly your career in one fell swoop. Christian Dior would turn in his grave if he saw that abomination. So, with that faux pas in mind, let’s trawl the archives.
Photo courtesy of @VVND on Instagram
Lady Gaga’s Meat Dress
Cast your mind back to the MTV Awards in 2010, while the awards in themselves were not controversial (unless you include the win for the Thirty Seconds to Mars video by the Kings and Queens – Florence and the Machine were robbed). The only other odd thing was Lady G’s dress. The outfit was designed by Franc Fernandez and widely condemned at the time, with most people missing the point of the dress (worn as a protest at the US military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, preventing those in the forces from disclosing their sexual identity).
Time magazine loved it, while animal rights activists hated the dress for Gaga, but she made a meal out of it, and Fernandez recreated the outfit for Lady G to wear in a video urging US citizens to vote in the 2020 presidential election. Did this meaty statement help Biden? Who knows, but the Fernandez (www.francfernandez.com) site isn’t secure.
Original artwork by VWCooks from People.com
The Costume Institute Gala Bonkers Award
The film awards don’t always bring out the bad-taste outfits. The Met Gala (formerly the Costume Institute Gala) probably wins some sort of award for bonkers dressing. The Hollywood Reporter is hot on the Met Gala looks, giving media space to Solange (Beyonce’s sister) in 2015 in her Giles Deacon futuristic gown for the China: Through the Looking Glass theme. How about Dan Levy in 2021 and his outfit inspired by the artwork of David Wojnarowicz, an AIDS activist and artist who died in 1992? Dan from Schitt’s Creek makes a statement about LGBTQ rights and uses the Met’s spotlight to make his point.
Others cannot say they are making a valid point about anything, so who is laughing at who? Take Evan Mock from the same year, 2021. Mock definitely made his own outfit, wearing a spiked S&M style gimp mask, chunky silver jewelry, and mismatched socks over a tasteful Thom Browne dress jacket ruined by safety pins on the sleeves and torso and ridiculous black above-the-knee shorts. That’s not the worst thing about the Met Gala outfits, though…take a gander at Marc Jacob in 2012 or Clara Delevingne in 2020 (all Dior trousers and no top).
The award for this particular blunder goes to Kimy (Kim Kardash) in her all-in-one black catsuit and mask made by Balenciaga, suggesting they wanted to keep fans guessing. It’s a NO from us and also from KK; apparently, she was not impressed.
Demi More on Instagram @demimoore NOT wear the 1998 homemade outfit
Oscars Outfits That Didn’t Cut It
We’ve chatted about the Costume Institute Gala and the MTV Awards, but we are actually here to look at the Academy Awards, so let’s do that starting with the slightly unhinged Bjork in 2021. The Icelandic singer, a well-known eccentric, made quite a statement at the 2001 Oscars by dressing as a swan and then laying eggs on the red carpet – yep, you heard it, Bjork can lay golden eggs. Talking about DIY outfits, we offer Demi Moore as an example of how just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
For the 1998 Academy Awards, Demi Moore made her own outfit (allegedly); allegedly or not, the outfit was a disaster. Stick to the day job and never ever put a pair of bike shorts and a bustier top with a train together (call the fashion police). Just a side note: Demi was in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery in 1997, not making another film until 1999. Was this a coincidence? Did the outfit bring on a film script drought? Who knows, but if the dress fits Demi, wear it!
In 1996, Nicole Kidman attended in a purple nightdress, while Cher stole the show in her showgirl showpiece costume in 1986 (well, it was the 80s, need we say more). 1990 was a terrible year for red carpet fashion thanks to Kim Basinger – while 9½ Weeks was a hit, KB’s dress definitely was not. But none of these wardrobe blunders is as bad as the CBA outfit from Ashley Graham at the Oscars 2023 Vanity Fair after-party – all we can think is she forgot to pick her dry cleaning.
Sandra Oh contemplating her outfit choices for the Emmys @killingeve on Instagram
More Oscars Outfits That Didn’t Make the Grade
Killing Eve star Sandra Oh surprised the red carpet in 2023 with her luminous yellowy-mustard gown by Giambattista Valli. Valli is an Italian fashion designer who you would imagine hopes to be commissioned for this year’s awards. Hmmmmm, maybe it’s the color or the yards of spare fabric; this Greek goddess-inspired dress does nothing for Sandra Oh – she is a goddess, but this dress does nothing for her and asks why she chose such a disappointing outfit for such a prestigious event.
The 90s was not a great decade for fashion, especially Oscars outfits. Gena Davis in 1992 is a mix of can-can girl meets Victorian lady of the night. Gena is famous for films like Tootsie, with Dustin Hoffman, Beetlejuice, or the iconic Thelma and Louise; she might have great taste in film scripts, but Gena has made terrible fashion choices. Helena Bonham Carter (Harry Potter’s Bellatrix Lestrange) looks like a bag lady (not unusual for Carter) at the 2013 Academy Awards. Dressed in black and white, fabulously bonkers HBC is the queen of CBA dressing. Gena’s counterpart in T&L, Susan Sarandon, didn’t fare much better at the 1996 Oscars in a tacky gold Dolce & Gabbana gown. It’s now when we must ask – are the stylists doing their job?
Original artwork from VWCooks Creatives
Celeb Couples Who Outfit Together Don’t Stay Together
Couple dressing is a no-no; we say this again – don’t dress like your partner. Why do some couples, celebrities or not, need to dress the same? Is it a lack of imagination? We can only say yes. Look at Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake, who dressed in matching denim outfits at the American Music Awards in 2001. Okay, JT isn’t wearing a dress, but he is wearing double denim – the demise of their two-year relationship was on the cards from this point. No, Britney, don’t ever say, ‘Oops, I did it again,’ because once is more than enough. Recently, Kanye West and Julia Fox repeated this hideous faux pas in 2022. In this case (double denim), time is not a healer, even with the Jean Paul Gaultier-inspired Cone Bra jean jacket.
Victoria and David Beckham are all leathered up. Yes, we are still in the 90s, a terrible time for all things fashion. Becks wore this sartorial abomination to a Versace party in 1999. Did Vic design this? No, Gucci did – oh, the horror. If you want to see this check out Grazia for the best pics. To be fair, Victoria Beckham has talked about this outfit many times, saying ‘it haunts me.’ And so it should!
Talking about copycatting, Kanye and Julia went down the full leather route later that year, complete with the KK full-cover face mask. At this point, the KK vs. KW timeline points to this full-face cover being the baby of Kim Kardashian – Kanye shouldn’t be liable for copyright, but that’s up to Balenciaga, but if we were a Kering-owned brand, I would hide this one in the archives never to be repeated.
From Instagram @balenciaga
Celeb Couples Who Outfit Together Do Stay Together
Stop the press. The total black leather outfits were repeated again in 2021 when Helen Lasichanh and happy Pharrell Williams took to the white carpet at The Met Gala. There are no lessons learned here. However, they redeemed themselves at the Academy Awards with a black-and-white ensemble. Proving they are happy – just say no to the leather Pharrell.
As part of the red carpet fashion history, matching Tuxedos play their part. Check Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt; they really belong above in the Celeb Couples Who Outfit Together Don’t Stay Together, but we are all for the Tux and less about Mr and Mrs Smith.
While the Tux is a British invention (thanks to Prince Edward VII in 1865), as an alternative to a formal tailcoat, the Tuxedo is an easy but stylish fashion staple for men and women. However, Justin Timberlake’s Canadian denim Tux will NEVER make the grade.
Janet Jackson at the T-Mobile Centre on Instagram @janetjackson
Fashion Faux Pas or Wardrobe Malfunctions
Famous wardrobe malfunctions are not just a preserve of the award season; think Janet Jackson and her nipple cover failure at the 2004 Super Bowl; forget Taylor Swift. Janet (Miss Jackson, if you’re nasty) imprinted the Super Bowl on our consciousness well before TS, and not for the right reason. Nipplegate has inspired many funny memes and has had other unintentional revelations.
Famously, Sharon Stone reveals all in the bunny boiler film Basic Instinct, but real-life reveals on the red carpet are commonplace. Ask Eva Longoria, who had a fashion mishap in 2013 as she climbed the red carpet steps in Cannes. As the saying goes, all fur coat and no knickers (although her dress was more a green beaded ensemble than a rabbit fur topcoat).
Other no-knicker flashing stars who unintentionally revealed all at the awards: Rosario Dawson in 2013; she was wearing flesh-colored draws. Sophie Marceau in 2015, with no knickers, and Amal Clooney in 2016, who may or may not have been wearing underwear. 2016 was a good year for airing your views and your parts it seems. Laure Calamy let it rip at the Cannes Film Festival. In the same year, at the same festival, Bella Hadid’s dress left nothing to the imagination. However, her dignity was saved by a built-in silk bodysuit.
Photo courtesy of @tennisgirlsaesthetic
Bottoms Are En Vogue
Bottoms have always been popular, as you can see from this reproduction of a 70s print called ‘Tennis Girl.’ 2017 was the year that Abigail Lopez showed her best feature in a long teal number.
The most famous underwear-flashing moment belongs to Marilynn Munroe in an engineered shot for Some Like it Hot, filmed in 1955. Underwear as outerwear is normal; we have already mentioned Madonna’s JPG bra from the 1990 Blond Ambition tour.
Queen Bey has lived all the trends, from leather (VMAs 2000) and double denim (MTV 2002) through to the flesh-toned Givenchy gown with strategically placed beaded embellishments at the 2015 Met Gala. We love Beyoncé, and for the most part, she is the queen of classic dressing. You can see her in all her sartorial beauty here.
Tour outfits are something else, which brings us back around to the awards, especially the Best Costume Designer Award, a coveted award first presented in 1948. Presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (AMPAS) for achievements in film costume design. This award can make a designer’s career.
Photo courtesy of Disney.Fandom
Achievements in Film Costume Design
As an 8 Oscar award winner, Edith Head helped encompass the style of classic Hollywood with her striking, prestigious work at Paramount and Universal. Head dressed the most famous and iconic movie stars, including Cary Grant, Lana Turner, Paul Newman, Grace Kelly, John Wayne, Steve McQueen, Elizabeth Taylor, Steve McQueen, and Marlene Dietrich, to name but a few.
Wearing only black, white, beige, and brown, Head became a recognizable personality in her own right thanks to her distinctive personal style, including her signature glasses and forthright personality. This fashion personality inspired Pixar Animation Studios to create the character of Edna Mode in The Incredibles. Other award winners include Jenny Beavan, OBE, a British costume designer, and Ruth E Carter for Black Panther in 2023. This year’s top bet is Jacqueline West for Killers of the Flower Moon. West was originally a fashion designer in San Francisco, with her own clothing stores in Berkeley, California, where she sold her own brand called ‘Identikit by Jacqueline West.’
Jacqueline West is best known for her work on Quills in 2000, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button with Brad Pitt in 2008, The Social Network (not much call for costume here), The Tree of Life in 2011, Argo in 2012, The Revenant in 2015 (all bear skins and dystopian fashion), Dune (2021 the return of the worm). Being nominated is not winning, but it’s an amazing job for talented people.
Corpse Bride @timburton on Instagram
BAFTA Faux Pas
Among the sequins and the glorious glamor of the BAFTA red carpet, there were also some major fashion faux pas and seriously questionable ensembles. RuPaul’s Drag Race star Bimini Bon Boulash was among those who missed the mark; while talking about RuPaul (RuPaul Andre Charles), while he pushes the boundaries, some outfits have been left wanting.
RuPaul’s Drag Race star Bimini Bon Boulash takes all the fashion rules and throws them in the trash with their versions of Frankenstien’s Bride. Jessie Buckley’s odd black jumpsuit and Sienna Miller’s strange gold dress and black lace opera glove get-up make the perfect bridesmaids for a corpse bride.
Meanwhile, Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown wore a questionable corpse bride black lace ensemble that didn’t hit the mark.
@vwcookscreatives on IG original art.
How Drag Inspires Fashion
Drag is art, and drag performers appear in magazine campaigns for fashion brands while sitting in judgment at Fashion Week runways around the world. For a generation of fashion fans, the links between fashion and drag are so obvious it’s untrue. Drag and fashion is all about finding self-expression, freedom, and creativity. But it wasn’t always like this, with fashion and drag originally from separate worlds joining together to create fabulous.
Drag queens broke a major fashion barrier in 2020 when performers Pabllo Vittar and Gloria Groove became the first drag queens to appear on the front cover of Vogue magazine in Brazil.
Pabllo Vittar and Gloria Groove said, ‘Vogue is one of the most iconic magazines in history.’ Pabllo has over 20 million followers on social media. ‘It was an honor to be the first drag queen on the cover.’ Drag has long inspired make-up (Kim K, we are talking about you), so why not fashion?
In a recent BBC interview, RuPaul said, ‘The queens of RuPaul’s Drag Race are well versed in fashion history, with designers like Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen cited as inspirations for the runway looks.’ We know tearful award speeches come with the territory, so we can’t miss this opportunity to give a watery-eyed celeb a name check. Read them and weep.
Photo: Unsplash
Best Tearful Award Speech
Acceptance speeches at the Academy Awards, in fact, most award ceremonies, have a reputation for being overall emotional, awkwardly tearful, sometimes inspirational, occasionally self-deprecating, and sometimes celebs manage all these things at the same time. Remember, the awards are mostly given to actors (at least the important ones). These talented people make money from drama or creating a dramatic moment, and they usually do it well!
With that in mind, it’s not surprising that when they win the highest accolades in their field, things get teary and intense super fast. Remember Gwyneth Paltrow, sobbing in her pink princess gown in 1999, to the Monster’s Ball actress Halle Berry giving her best acceptance performance about the lack of women of color winning awards in the movies (nothing much has changed).
Berry was very emotional and said, ‘This moment is for Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne, and Diahann Carroll.’ She went on to say, ‘It’s for all the women that stand by me – Angela Bassett, Jada Pinkett, Vivica Fox – for every nameless, faceless woman of color that might have a chance because this door has been opened.’
Photo: Unsplash
Emotional Academy Award Speeches that Celebrate Diversity
In 2023, Michelle Yeoh was the first Asian woman to win the Best Actress award. In a thought-provoking speech, Yeoh told the audience: ‘This is for all the little boys and girls who look like me. This is proof; dream big, and dreams do come true. She finished with a comment about aging in Hollywood by saying, ‘Ladies, don’t let anybody tell you you’re past your prime.’ History was made, and actually, Yeoh’s tears were positive and not self-absorbed in any way.
Emotionalism is not just the domain of women; in 2003, Michael Moore used his win for Bowling for Columbine (a gun-control documentary) as an opportunity to berate George Bush for the Iraq war. In 2017, The Moonlight writer and director Tarell Alvin McCraney talked emotionally in his acceptance speech for the Best Adapted Screenplay award about black LGBTQ+ people watching being proud, being themselves, and having the confidence to tell their stories.
In 2018, the Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri actor Frances McDormand spoke up for women. In her poignant acceptance speech, she urged the influential men in the room to Google ‘inclusion rider’ – the clause in an actor, actress and filmmaker contract that promotes a level of diversity in a production’s cast and crew. Yes! Frances, we hear you! Has that speech made any difference – Nope!
Photo: Unsplash
The Most Entertaining Academy Award Speeches
While we love a tear, we also like to be entertained, and as we have already said, actors love to entertain, and they will do it anywhere, and there’s nowhere better than the Oscars. In the Ben Affleck and Matt Damon Best Original Screenplay Oscar acceptance Speech in 1997, the best friends (on and off the screen) could not help themselves. The childhood mates could not stop thanking the people they considered had helped them – all this at high speed, taking up more time than any other speech. The Shouts of GET OFF were audible (especially to those who didn’t win).
We love Olivia Colman; there’s no denying her talent, so when this British actress took the Oscar for Best Actress in 2019 for ‘The Favourite,’ we knew we were in for a good time. Embraced and kissed by her husband, she quickly moved past Emma Stone, who was crying buckets on the other side of the table.
Colman started her speech with, ‘This is stressful and hilarious; I’ve got an Oscar.’ In true Olivia style, she poked her tongue out at the teleprompter when she was told to wrap up, but it was the pointing and saying ‘Lady Gaga’ to her fellow nominee in the front row that got us – we still don’t know why – but if you can, why not?
Photo: Unsplash
Sad Speeches – Best Supporting Actors
In the Best Supporting Actors Oscars Speech for Heath Ledger 2009, Ledger’s family accepted the award on behalf of the troubled star who said they had been ‘truly overwhelmed’ by the honor for his part as the Joker in the Dark Knight trilogy. The sad speech was made one year after Ledger died of a drug overdose. Other famous actors who received posthumous Academy Awards are James Dean, Howard Ashman, Peter Finch, Spencer Tracey, Chadwick Boseman, and Conrad Hall. Interestingly, in 1969, Walt Disney posthumously won his last Academy Award in the Best Short Subject category for Winnie the Pooh’s Blustery Day.
Sad speeches, emotional speeches, and silly speeches are all part of the award season. From the MTV awards through to the Golden Globes, politics has been the top hot podium subject.
Photo: Unsplash
Political Oscars Speeches
Actors might be good-looking, but they aren’t all shallow (many are very shallow). In the case of the handsome Marlon Brando, in his award speech for The Godfather in 1973, which never happened, Brando gave his opportunity to speak to fellow actor Sacheen Littlefeather, who criticized the depiction of Native Americans in Hollywood.
Littlefeather passed on the message that Brando wouldn’t accept the award because of the ‘treatment of American Indians by the film industry and on reruns.’ Nothing changes, and the actress Lily Gladstone from The Killing of The Flower Moon could be the first female indigenous American to win an award.
Viola Davis joined Halle Berry and many others when she spoke in 2017 about diversity and racism but mainly about her part in ‘Fences,’ especially about the impact of her parents on her life and career. The ‘How to Get Away with Murder’ actor paid tribute to her husband, Julius Tennon, and their children and reminded others in the room that success is a shared experience and only truly means something if others join in.
In 2016, The Revenant star Leonardo DiCaprio finally won an Oscar. Many, including DiCaprio, thought he should have received an Oscar years before. DiCaprio used the platform to pay tribute to and ask for enhanced protection of indigenous people (watch out for a sequel to this speech this year) while also asking for action on Climate Change, acknowledging the crisis is real and the most urgent in our time (almost eight years ago and not much has changed there either).
Jada PS Speaks Out
Although there was no speech, in 2016, Jada Pinkett Smith suggested Hollywood figures from minority backgrounds should boycott the 2016 Oscars over diversity. Writing on Twitter (now X), the star of Bad Moms, The Matrix x 3, and Magic Mike XXL expressed her dismay at the Academy’s failure to nominate and select non-whites for the major prizes going back years. The hashtag #Oscarssowhite, created in 2015, trended on X and continues to trend. In 14 years, the Oscars and associated industry are still prominently a white domain.
At the time and in an article by The Guardian, JPS points out that hubby Will Smith didn’t get a best actor nomination for his role in the film Concussion (no wonder who has even heard of that film in 2024). Idris Elba (British actor) was widely expected to get a nomination for the Best Supporting Actor award after his Screen Actors Guild-nominated and Golden Globe in the Netflix drama Beasts of No Nation (nothing from Netflix was ever going to win an award then), while Michael B Jordan from Creed and the NWA biopic Straight Outta Compton also failed to get a trophy.
Hindsight is a marvelous thing, and Pinkett Smith is, for the most part, correct, but in that statement, the only the NWA biopic Straight Outta Compton really stands out as a proper contender – Will Packer should have got a nomination for production. Nevertheless, Jade Pinkett Smith had a point, although there is never going to be a nomination for The Nutty Professor.
Photo courtesy of imdb.com
Award Winners Who Had Their Award Taken Away
We have talked a lot about winners, but what about losers? There are lots of celebs who are in disgrace and have had their awards taken away. Here’s the name and shame list.
In 2017, Kevin Spacey was nominated for an Emmy award for the gripping series ‘House of Cards.’ However, the once esteemed actor was in the spotlight for another reason, and it was not an award-winning one. Following several unpleasant #metoo style reports, the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences took back his Emmy nomination. Not long after, Spacey was fired by Netflix, among others.
Spacey wouldn’t be the last person that the International TV Academy would revoke an award or nomination over sexual misconduct. Andrew Cuomo was stripped of his Emmy. The New York Governor received the International Emmy Founders Award from the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for his coronavirus briefings, only to have the Academy rescind the Emmy award due to sexual harassment allegations against him.
Photo Unsplash
How Bad Do You Have to Be to Have Your Award Revoked?
In over 90 years, there’s only been one instance where a film officially won, and the Academy had to take the Oscar back. Given how many failed celebrities there have been, the Academy’s policy on revoking the Oscars has been weak in responding. Controversial members like Harvey Weinstein have been expelled from the Academy, but he has not been stripped of any awards.
In 2009, Bill Cosby was considered a comedy legend when he won the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor award. Pretend by Chris Rock (before he was slapped by Will Smith) By 2018, Cosby had been found guilty of many sexual offenses that included drugging his victims before raping them. Cosby was rightly stripped of several accolades, including his statue in the Television Academy’s Hall of Fame, honorary degrees, and the Mark Twain Prize. While Spacey, Crosby, and Cuomo were found guilty and stripped of their awards, many weren’t, and it’s a disgrace that Weinstein remains an award winner.
In answer to the question, how bad do you have to be to have your award revoked? Ummm, the answer depends on who you are, who you know, and how much money you have- Harvey Weinstein, we are looking at you, while others are not looking hard enough.
Fenty Beauty Photo: Unsplash
Rihanna, Chris Brown, & Drake and The Award that Was and Then it Wasn’t
2009 was not a good year for Chris Brown. The “Run It” singer pleaded guilty to assault for beating Rihanna before the 2009 Grammys. However, just a short two years later, he would win an award that was probably the most embarrassing blunder ever.
The 2011 BET Awards are among the most cringeworthy examples of complete incompetence. The award winner was announced initially as Chris Brown for the Coca-Cola Viewers’ Choice Award, but within seconds, presenter Tiffany Greene changed track and announced that Rihanna had won (she should have won). In Rihanna’s absence (no surprise she didn’t attend with CB on the roster), her friend Drake accepted the award.
In a case of fact being stranger than fiction, events swung full circle when host Kevin Hart announced that a mistake had been made and Brown won. That’s more than one punch in the face and a terrible mistake in more ways than one. Suggestion – only use a presenter that can read a teleprompter. Sometimes, La La Land and the people who are involved in the awards circuit lack common sense. Okay, let’s move on to a lighter subject.
Photo Courtesy of the Daily Mirror
The Worst Dress Sportsman of the Year Worldwide Award
Featuring Granit Xhaka, Brian Wilson, Steven Gerrard (British Footballer), Mario Balotelli, Lewis Hamilton, Bradley Roby, Cam Newton, Joakim Noah, Lionel Messi, Ryo Ishikawa, and more in dodgy, ill-thought-out outfits both on and off the sports field.
Let’s start with Swiss professional footballer Granit Xhaka. If you thought the Swiss were all cheese and chocolate, you would be wrong. They also turn out talented soccer players with skill but no taste. Xhaka arrived at the Bayer Leverkusen ground in an all-in-one cheap ASOS outfit that was so bad it’s good. If you want to see the pics of Xhaka, Gerrard, Balotelli, and Lewis Hamilton in all their sartorial glory, click the daily mirror link above.
As for Brian Wilson, the beanie hat king, Bradley Roby, Cam Newton, Joakim Noah, Lionel Messi, and Ryo Ishikawa, The Bleacher Report has all the pics, but the award from this motley crew is Ryo Ishikawa, who has lost it all together with his red jumpsuit on the green at the 2013 Masters. We know golf is the home of the badly dressed, but really Ryo!
Photo courtesy of The Sun
Worst-Dressed Boxers and MMA Fighters
While the above are guilty of offenses against fashion, boxers are arguably worse. There’s something about the way boxers and MMA fighters dress that leaves taste at the door. As ever, there are exceptions: Chris Eubank (British World Champion known as Simply the Best) and Nigel Benn, another well-dressed British Boxer. Looking back at the archives, Muhammad Ali could cut a dash in the wardrobe department, as well as being the most famous boxer in the world.
However, Francis Ngannou, in his black and gold cloak at the weigh-in with the well-dressed Anthony Joshua, needs a reality check in more ways than one. There are several Tyson Fury dressing moments that will make your eyes water. Nav Salimian has been the designer behind Fury’s terrible dress sense for over five years (we say, enough already). What was Salimian thinking when he created Fury’s ‘You Big Dosser’ suit or the floral number Fury wore to meet Deontay Wilder? Proving that just because you can never means you should.
Phrases on your outfit are nothing new for the other questionable taste fighter, Conor McGregor. McGregor wore a bespoke “F**k you” suit to meet Floyd Mayweather. While the insults were flying, Mayweather just took it in his stride.
If you want to look hideous while making a statement, then David August Heil is your man. Working under his self-titled label, David August. The celebrity designer makes clothes for other poorly dressed celebs like Sylvester Stallone and Elon Musk. Proving off taste covers all walks of life.
To be fair to McGregor, he usually cuts a dash, and no one has a more prominent style influence in the sports world than ‘The Notorious.’ Since the beginning of his career, the famous Irishman has always arrived at his fights, bringing his style and fashion A-game.
Photo Courtesy of the Sugashop
Suga Life at the Sugashop
If TF isn’t bad enough, his style tactics are nothing compared to Sean O’Malley, the ‘pink poodle,’ Oh boy this fighter is so bad he isn’t good; he’s sad. Seen in 2023 after the Sterling fight, in a toweling bathrobe and Crocs (nasty plastic slip-on boat shoes), looking smug.
Stylish or not, O’Malley is a role model to young fans, appealing to Millennials, mainly GenZ, and it shows in his social media reach. Suga has millions of followers on FB, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram, peaking at over 750,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel aptly named Suga Sean, so it makes sense that the man with no style will capitalize on it in his online store, the ingeniously named sugashop.
As Yves Saint Laurent once said, “Fashions come and go, but style is eternal.” Luckily, YSL was not around to see the fashion no-nos that UFC and MMA fighters do in some designers’ names. Yes, Wilder, in your black and gold Versace shirt, we mean you!
Photo from #conormcgregor
Other MMA Fighters Who Sell Their Wares Online
Notorious sells his fashion online, so if you want to look like CMc then this online store is your go-to.
Taken from @bulletvalentina on Instagram
Women Whose Style Rocks the UFC
Valentina Shevchenko, ‘the bullet,’ is probably the most dominant fighter in the UFC as of now. She’s consistently finishing her opponents in super fast and brutal fashion. The bullet is the current women’s flyweight champion, and her presence has a lethal effect outside the octagon, too. This Kyrgyz fighter always dresses to impress. Check her Insta for a multitude of bikini shots – style and substance, that’s a YES from us!
Felice Herrig is 55, what! We know, how did that happen? Just take a gander at her IG page for a woman who rocks sportswear and also a cabbage (you need to log on to see that one). She also rocks a Santa suit, bikinis, and wedding dresses. Read more about Herrig here.
Take Frani Crews-Dezurn, a fashion designer, singer, and undisputed champion who is one of the top women boxers in the world who takes fashion seriously (if you disagree, you might be in trouble). Claressa Shields is a fan seen wearing a Franchon Crews-Dezurn design for the Savannah Marshall fight at the O2 Arena in London in 2023. The Thehhdiva is a style queen who debuted her partnership with @risenyfw at New York Fashion Week in early February 2024. If you’re not convinced, check her IG page.
Women fighters are not all about the costumes and the drama. Take Amanda Serrano, who has given up her WBC featherweight title after the WBC refused to support her campaign to bring in the three-minute round into women’s boxing. Serrano has always used her platform to speak up for women’s boxing and female boxers. She believes that giving up her WBC title and undisputed status can raise awareness for her 3-minute campaign and champion female fighters to take more control of their careers. Read more here.
Talking about fashion week, there have been some famous funny moments, but also some fashion week shockers.
Photo from @thewestwoodarchives on IG
Fashion Week Shockers That Won’t Win Any Awards
In 2017, Bella Hadid fell over on the Michael Kors catwalk, reminiscent of the much more famous Naomi Campbell fall in the 90s. Campbell, the undisputed queen of the catwalk, fell off her gigantic heels at Vivienne Westwood’s Fall/ Winter 1993 ‘Anglomania’ fashion collection! Naomi fell while wearing Vivienne Westwood’s ‘Super Elevated Gillie’ Heels. She said the latex tights made it hard to walk as she kept slipping in the heels. The young supermodel inspired many memes and copycat trips, but this one remains iconic.
A few catwalk seasons later, Gigi, Bella’s older sister, lost her footwear on the Anna Sui catwalk at New York Fashion Week. Not quite the trip that Bella or Naomi had, but nevertheless, still show stopping. Who can forget Nicky Hilton’s revealing Versace look (all of us)? The cut-out white dress left her backside revealed at NY Fashion Week in 2015. That’s a bummer!
Rapper Doja Cat spoke about her shocking fashion experience last year while attending the Victoria’s Secret in New York. The gal power rap star wore a gifted slinky black slip dress.
D Cat looked stunning in the long black dress, worn with a heavy silver choker, sunglasses, and a smile. But, while she may have looked intact at the event, the Instagram photos that she shared later were less than ideal. The dress was designed to give her an unflattering wedgy – No Victoria’s Secret, VPL is not cool.
It’s all bottoms and no tops, but is it? Ask Cardi B.
Original artwork @vwcookscreatives
Boob and Bust
Cardi B certainly made an entrance at the 2023 Schiaparelli Haute Couture Fall/Winter show in Paris. The rapper dropped it like it was hot by wearing a black bolero jacket with feather detailing and a matching sleeveless dress. The black gown featured gold detailing and a corset that was supposed to keep her modesty intact. However, CB ran into difficulty as the heat got to her. The sleeveless dress was a tight fit but not tight enough, apparently; her bust began to spill out of the top, forcing Cardi to stop while stylist Kollin Carter pulled the gown up before it proved a complete fashion disaster.
This takes us back to Nipplegate and Janet Jackson; boobs will be boobs, and some designers make sure all the model’s attributes are thoroughly celebrated. Just ask our shoeless friend Gigi Hadid; while modeling in the Milan Fashion Week in 2016 for the Versace runway show in a black Versace dress, she revealed her creative side. The sheer black gown featured a thin cut-out below the chest with a plunging neckline and back.
As GH floated down the catwalk, the dress slipped, exposing her upper half. No worries for GH; she continued to walk as if nothing had happened. A true modeling professional. An award winning melon moment. Read more about these mishaps here.
2024 Oscar Nomination Surprises and Shockers
The Oscar nomination surprises and shockers bring us right around to where we started. 2024 is a big year in the film industry after the 8-month writers strike and, of course, the 2020 Pandemic, which really stopped the awards season in its tracks. Controversy is afoot; why no Oscar noms for Greta Gerwig and no Best Director mention, while Margot Robbie was not even in the running for Best Actress?
Barbie may be for girls and fashion designers, but the updated version is for everyone. So why no mention, no nod, or any noms? It’s more than ironic that a movie focused on championing women was shut out from these prestigious categories. Saltburn also got burned, but not for the reason you would expect (you need to see this movie to know what we mean). Saltburn was salty in so many ways. Others that didn’t make the grade were All Of Us Strangers (great movie), Wonka (chocolatey), Priscilla (boring and tragic), and John Wick (double boring and predictable).
While the losers were unexpected, the big nomination and likely winner for an actual Oscar is in the Women Making History in the Best Picture category Lily Gladstone. Lily is the first Native American to receive a nomination for Best Actress for Killers of the Flower Moon with seven times nominated actor Leonardo DiCaprio.
Original artwork by @vwcookscreatives for boxingnews.com
Best Actor Award for Bad Behaviour
The Best Actor award for bad behavior has to go to Will Smith for the Slap of the Century, or at least the Oscars. In 2022, Will Smith delivered a slap in the face to Chris Rock for a derogatory remark he had made about Jada Pinkett Smith. Rock made a totally unfunny joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head. Pinkett Smith struggles with an autoimmune skin disease, alopecia, that causes hair loss on the scalp and face or on the body.
Many pundits have speculated that this scene was a setup; we can see why Smith would do this, but who knows what goes on in the mind of this famous Scientologist. Others who couldn’t restrain themselves on the podium are many, but none have actually drawn blood. The Kanye and Taylor debacle at the VMA’s rumbles on, with KW being ejected from front-row seats at the Super Bowl (allegedly). There’s also some old beef (we don’t mean pastrami) with many old friends becoming enemies as soon as they do a reality show (The Hiltons, The Osbournes with some drama on The Kardashians).
Kim Cattrall and Sarah Jessica Parker no longer speak – too much sex in the city (is that possible?). Another shocking VMA moment was when, in 2015, Nicki Minja won the VMA for best hip-hop video and called out Miley Cyrus (that don’t impress me much) during her speech for ‘saying a lot about me in the press.’ You know what they say: there’s no such thing as bad press, and in Minja’s case, this is true.
Taylor Swift and Katy Perry have fallen out in a case of stolen backing dancers. Madonna and Elton are not friends, and that’s got nothing to do with clothes or terrible on-stage outfits but the worst James Bond theme tune ever. Elton hated ‘Die Another Day,’ which we all love. So no actual fisticuffs but plenty of bad blood. The last word on feuds goes to Elizabeth Taylor and Debbie Reynolds, and something to do with Eddie Fisher finishing too many ponds in one neighborhood – angling is going to do that for you!
Photo: Unsplash
The Razzies and Razzie Awards
One awards ceremony that most celebs love (they do if they have a sense of humor) is The Razzies – The Golden Raspberry Awards. The Razzers is a parody award ceremony honoring the worst of the movie fails. Co-founded by industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, along with UCLA film graduates, the Razzies satirical annual award ceremony began in 1981 in Wilson’s home and now is a significant industry event. Sylvester Stallone has won the most awards, with ten Golden Raspberry trophies to his name.
Celebrities who have accepted the honor with good grace are Paul Verhoeven, the first to receive his awards for the movie Showgirls (yep, that was a terrible movie). Other recipients include Tom Green (Worst Actor/Worst Director), Sandra Bullock (Worst Actress for All About Steve in 2010.), Halle Berry (Worst Actress for Cat Woman in 2004) and Alan Menken (Worst Song).
Dinesh D’Souza didn’t do too well at all, Winning the Worst Picture, Director, and Actor for the 2016 documentary Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party. Fifty Shades of Grey producers Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, Michael Ferris, and J. D. Shapiro won the Worst Ever Screenplay.
Original artwork by @vwcookscreatives on IG
Golden Raspberry Award 2023 and 2024
In 2023, the worst actress nomination included Ana de Armas (Ghosted as Sadie Rhodes), surprisingly Megan Fox (Johnny & Clyde as Alana Hart), Salma Hayek( Magic Mike’s Last Dance as Maxandra Mendoza), and Jenny from the Block – Jennifer Lopez (The Mother as The Mother) and even Dame Helen Mirren (Shazam! Fury of the Gods as Hespera) Dame Helen what were you thinking?
Worst actor nominations in 2023 were Vin Diesel (Fast X as Dominic Toretto) and Russell Crowe (The Pope’s Exorcist as Father Gabriele Amorth). Times must be tough, Russell. Chris Evans (Ghosted as Cole Turner), Jason Statham (Meg 2: The Trench as Jonas Taylor), no surprise there, and Jon Voight (Mercy as Patrick Quinn).
The 2023 winners were Jared Leto (Morbius as Dr. Michael Morbius), and it seems no one won worst actress because they were all terrible. It’s good to see famous actors and those involved in the movie industry NOT taking themselves too seriously. Let’s see what the Golden Raspberry holds for us in 2024.
Photo: Unsplash
Best Oscar-Winning Film Quotes
The award season always throws up some great quotes, but it’s the famous quotes from award-winning films that keep us going all year and, in some cases, for many decades. As Jerry Maguire might have said to Judy Garland,’You had me at hello,’ and her reply may have been, ‘Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore.’
The Godfather said, ‘I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse,’ to which the reply came back in Godfather II, ‘Keep your friends close and your enemies closer’. Good advice if you happen to be in Kansas. We often say, ‘That’s elementary, my dear Watson,’ especially to ET who always wants to ‘Phone Home.’ If Rocky had asked Adrian instead of shouting ‘Yo Adrian,’ he might not have won so many golden raspberries.
Mothers worldwide say ‘life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get,’ especially on Mother’s Day. While ‘You’re gonna need a bigger boat’ is slightly more aspirational unless you’re in Jaws when it’s necessary. In the face of sharks, Nemo will tell you to ‘just keep swimming,’ but The Wolf of Wall Street, Leonardo Dicaprio, tells you greed is good when perhaps he should have said, ‘Houston, we have a problem.’
Jordan Belfort may have uttered that phrase or something similar a few years later.
I’ll certainly have ‘what she’s having.’ referring to Sally when she met Harry. When it comes to the awards, the advice from Bette Davis in All About Eve is apt, ‘Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.’ After writing 8k words in this article, we might say, ‘I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore,’ but it’s more likely going to be, ‘I’ll be back.’ Because ‘I see dead people,’ no, no wrong quote. We mean ‘We’ll always have Paris’ – not that quote either. Because ‘Life is a banquet, and most poor S****rs are starving to death.’
Hasta La Vista Baby!
