Arab designers have their moment at 95th Oscar Academy Awards

DUBAI: Arab designers had their moment T the 95th Academy Awards with the likes of Elie Saab, Zuhair Murad and Tony Ward dressing Hollywood’s leading names.

Lebanon’s Saab dressed US actress Monica Barbaro, British model Cara Delevingne and Australian model Miranda Kerr.

Delevingne hit the carpet in a gorgeous red silk taffeta ballgown with a thigh-high slit and one shoulder with a billowing bow. She paired the look with a Bulgari serpent choker in white gold with emeralds for the eyes of the snake.

Kerr showed off a baby blue look by the fashion house, while Barbaro looked elegant in a teal-and-maroon ensemble, complete with ethereal chiffon and a structured billowing skirt.

US actress Eva Longoria stunned in a geometric mirrored gown by Murad, complete with a deep neckline, from the designers Spring 2023 Couture collection.

Monica Barbaro showed off an Elie Saab gown. (AFP)

Meanwhile, Chinese superstar Fan Bingbing made a regal entrance in sparkling silver and emerald green — it was created by Lebanese Italian designer Tony Ward. “X-Men” star Bingbing finished off her look with hair sculpted into an Old Hollywood bob.

While Fan looked like a queen, Sofia Carson was a princess in white custom Giambattista Valli haute couture, a stunning statement diamond and emerald necklace accenting her ball gown with its off-shoulder, form-fitting bodice, a delicate diamond-shaped cutout at the center. Her jewels were by Chopard, including 122.49 carats of emeralds and 92.57 carats of diamonds, The Associated Press reported.

Also looking royal was Angela Bassett in Moschino. The dress by Jeremy Scott included draping that looked like a huge bow up top as the fabric swirled around her body. She was perfectly accented with a serpent Bulgari necklace.

“It’s light, it’s royal purple, our color for royalty,” she told E!. “Just bringing that to the carpet. And, also spring.”

British model Cara Delevingne in an Elie Saab outfit. (Getty Images)

Rihanna helped close down the carpet in custom Alaia, a leather band dress she wore over a jersey bodysuit as she showed off her baby bump. Lady Gaga snagged a black Versace look off the runway from the fashion house’s show last week in Los Angeles. It featured boning under a sheer top with sheer sleeves and a ballgown skirt with a drop waist. Around her neck was a Tiffany & Co. diamond choker.

Cate Blanchett donned a never-before-seen blue draped velvet top from the Louis Vuitton archives. She wore it with a black skirt made of fully sustainable silk.

Florence Pugh went in a different direction with a super-mini look in black under a voluminous strapless top that fell into billowy sleeves and yards of long fabric in a greyish white. It was Valentino Haute Couture. She had a Tiffany & Co. diamond necklace around her neck with matching pink tourmaline earrings.

Halle Bailey did the young proud as well in an ethereal strapless soft blue gown by Dolce & Gabbana, with sheer panels at the skirt and boning on top. So did Janelle Monáe in a Vera Wang look that fell from a strapless black crop top to an orange skirt. She wore a black fabric choker around her neck.

Jamie Lee Curtis went for a long-sleeve sparkler by Dolce & Gabbana that was the precise color of the Oscars’ new off-white carpet.

Harvey Guillen and Harry Shum Jr. made statements of their own, the former in a Christian Siriano coat with a silver brocade design and a full ruffled coat and the latter in a white evening jacket with a wide sash and black trim.

“Puss in Boots” star Guillen said his outfit is the first time Siriano has designed for a plus-size man. The dramatic, embellished long coat flared out at the waist. It evoked Guillen’s vampire mockumentary show “What We Do in the Shadows,” on which he plays fan favorite Guillermo.