Top Ten: Red Carpet Cate
Tuesday, October 1, 2013 at 12:00PM Jose here. There's only a handful of things we can lock up for the upcoming Academy Awards and Cate Blanchett getting a Best Actress nod for Blue Jasmine is one of them.
The Australian goddess has been getting career-best reviews for her work in Woody Allen's latest, and considering she's played Bob Dylan, Kate Hepburn and Queen Elizabeth to perfection, she's been doing the right kind of press by being modest and saying she owes her success to Woody.
Tomorrow she's even getting a tribute at the New York Film Festival (read our festival coverage here)! Tributes are a key strategy in many Oscar campaign; she might finally win her second gold man. But let's not jump ahead of ourselves with that tricky Oscar fella and let's predict the other thing we can pretty much be assured will happen: Cate will be the best dressed woman on Oscar night. Doing the press rounds for Blue Jasmine donning everyone from Alexander McQueen to vintage Balenciaga, she has been on a roll (even when she goes for statements instead of "dresses"). Which forces us to wonder if she'll be out of ideas by spring!
HER TEN BEST LOOKS OF THE SEASON
after the jump
10. This plum Roksanda Ilincic is Cate's version of a t-shirt and jeans. Here's a Vionett dress she wore just "out on the town".
9. The delicateness of this Armani Privé seems to wash her out a little, but on a closer look she really highlights the dress' simplicity by going for subtly dramatic makeup. The color of the lace and the style of the skirt made me think this is a less formal version of Nicole Kidman's breathtaking Valentino from the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year.
8. Am I alone in thinking she's channeling Audrey Hepburn in this column Alexander McQueen?
7. 6. I can see why these two are some of her most controversial looks ever. The first one is a Christopher Kane illusion dress with cobweb patterns and a black tulle skirt. If you're thinking Cate turned into Rooney Mara, you're not that wrong given she wore this around the time it was announced they would be working together. The second dress is a Dior couture gown that a lot of people downright hated, however it was never meant to be taken at face value. The gown, if nothing else, is Dior's interpretation of Takashi Murakami's prints, which combine darkness with ironic patterns of flowers and happy faces.
5. Cate's LBD from Altuzarra = the sexiest she has ever looked.
4. Cate's wearing a dramatic Givenchy Couture halter dress with a cape. You might notice how the fabric seems to restrict her arms and this is precisely the point. People obsessed with couture know that there is no such thing as being comfortable at the service of a gown meant to be seen as art.
3. This red and white Prabal Gurung is like Cate playing Katniss Everdeen, the later years, and what's not to love about that?
2. Cate is channeling Kate in this classic Roksanda Ilincic with a boy collar and simple hair and makeup. She was on a high of pinks, pastels and corals and this look might be the one most universally loved by critics and fans alike.
1. Let's say you're Cate Blanchett and you need something to wear to the New York premiere of your new movie at the Museum of Modern Art. Do you go out shopping for clothes? Do you call your stylist and ask him/her to bring some options to your suite? No. If you're Cate Blanchett you pick up the phone (or whatever style goddesses use to communicate), call the folks at Balenciaga and tell them you want a recreation of one of their vintage looks. The result is a walking work of art made out of two parts: a simple dress with falling flower appliqués and a structured cape that adds the illusion of being a full on ball gown. My jaw dropped the second I saw this look and I've still to pick it up from the floor.
It's your turn, dear readers! What were your favorite Cate looks this season? How will she ever be able to top these at the Globes or Oscars?
Reader Comments (19)
this might be my fave post ever... love Cate and can't wait to see what she'll be wearing all season long. She never just looks nice, always makes a statement.
I must say great comeback esp for an actress over 40,well done cate.
Jose -- i worry, too, that she'll be out of ideas by Oscar time! ;)
Great post! I admire Cate so much and her style is just incredible. What I love about it is that she is not afraid to take risk on red carpet. I'm not sure she'll top that Balenciaga dress (jaw-dropping indeed), but I agree she will be the best dressed woman on Oscar night. Hopefully the best dressed winner:)
Hmmmm. Maybe what she needs is a Ralph Fiennes on her arm. I swear she glowed in Oscar and Lucinda.
Most of those outfits are hideous! The only good one is #1.
#6 is by far my favorite.
I saw # 4 in person :) a meter away from me, and I died in bliss
Its less a case of her running out of ideas but rather what are Mr Armani's ideas, just as she is a lock for a nomination she is a lock to be wearing Armani Prive on Oscar night!
John - I would've agreed with re Armani before this press tour. Despite being the face of his perfume Si, she only wore Armani once #9 this press tour. She is now all the colors of the designers rainbow.
I'll go with number 8. The rest are indefensible.
These are stunning! Especially numbers 10 and 2.
I like 10 because it reminds me of something Nicole Kidman would wear in Stoker.
I am with Nate, #6 is the best! I think her red-carpet looks are pretty consistently stunning, though.
I am amazed at how well Cate carries off even crazy-ass ideas. I think she has what Nathaniel always says SJP has: the ability to wear clothes, even clothes that should totally overwhelm whoever's wearing them.
I am obsessed with #7. And #10 is a totally sweet dress, too.
8 & 6
This is one of my fav post on this site ever! She manages to look so elegant, laidback and royal in Couture and wearing them like nobody's business
Number 5 is great because I seldom see Blanchett show her sexy side
Number 1 is pure art
There are hundreds of dresses and combos she can pull out untill March, when she walks up in Armani Prive and accept the the Best Actress award by her male counterpart Daniel Day-Lewis
Oh It just dawned on me that Daniel Day Lewis would be the man giving her the oscar in March. This would be so right in so many ways. She is the female Daniel Day Lewis and he is in every way her counterpart. I would die to see them in a movie together. I think the screen would literally catch on fire. I hate Rob Marshall for ruining what was another opportunity for combustion between Nicole and Daniel in Nine by making him a complete vegetable in her scene.
Anyways, back to Cate. The dresses are not always meant to look movie star stunning. She is very artistic in her choices and very much like Tilda Swinton in that regards. She is not afraid in being a walking object of art and I love her for that. The world is full of Jennifer Anistons and not nearly enough Cate Blanchetts on the red carpet which is probably better because greatness does not like company.
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