It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a woman in possession of a good fortune and unlimited access to haute couture, never wears the same dress twice.
Unless, of course, exactly the right occasion comes along, which is what happened for actress/producer Trudie Styler with this stunning, break-the-mold gown by Jean Paul Gaultier.
Trudie Styler in Jean Paul Gaultier, 2008. (With Sting and Kathleen Battle.) PNP/WENN
Styler wore this gown to the Oscars in 2001, when she accompanied her nominee husband down the red carpet. She wore it again in 2008 at the “Some Kinda Legacy” benefit for the Rainforest Foundation Fund, which she and Sting founded in 1989. Perhaps she felt the dress evoked the self-same beauty of the lands she was devoted to preserving.
The floral trumpet dress is a cascading print of flowers, grasses, and butterflies burgeoning into three-dimensional silk versions strewn about the top of a pleated organza train. And if that isn’t enough, the train is tiered in at least four layers: ruby over red over orange over grass green. A few petals are caught in the drifting layers.
Gaultier designed the dress specifically for Styler to wear to the Oscars. “It was down to the last minute,” she said. “[He] kept adding lots of flowers.”
And thank heavens he did! This dress is my second favorite of the decade, and, like Julia Roberts’ Valentino, is also a favorite from any era. (And, coincidentally, it was worn down the red carpet the same year. 2001 was a good year for memorable looks.)
The beauty of this dress is that, while extravagant in the extreme, it still seems somehow organic. Gaultier served up a truly opulent gown whose adornments look like they took root and grew from its own swirling skirts.
Styler wisely let the dress speak for itself and didn’t add unneccesary decoration. She wore stud earrings and carried a small ruby-colored purse. Her hair was drawn back loosely with a white silk ornament to match the dress, and she wore bangs. Her shoes disappeared beneath the hem of the skirt. The dress itself showed no cleavage, and Styler’s toned arms were the best possible accompaniment, as they added to the overall aura of feminine strength generated by the gown.*
Trudie Styler and Sting at the Some Kinda Legacy benefit. PNP/WENN
In some ways, a dress like this is a risk. It’s not solid, it’s not black, and it’s not remotely traditional. (And there’s always the physical hazard that someone will step on your train.) Yet what it ultimately proves is the old adage that sometimes the biggest risks pay off the most. What we have here is a totally modern dress that is also a gown for the ages.
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73rd Academy Awards, given in 2001 for performances in 2000. Styler attended with her husband, Sting, who was nominated as composer and lyricist of the song “My Funny Friend and Me” from the film The Emperor’s New Groove.
*Photos from the 2008 benefit, for which Ms. Styler altered her accessories slightly.
Oscar's Closet 