Black Christian Siriano gown of Billy Porter
American actor
The gown was well received by
Background
Porter was nominated for the
Design and development
In early February 2019,
Despite the short notice – custom red carpet gowns typically take months to complete – Siriano accepted immediately. Working from Porter's desire to play with
The final ensemble comprised a full-length black velvet
Ratelle said the design had been inspired by the 1878 Pierre-Auguste Renoir painting Madame Georges Charpentier and Her Children. Users on social media compared Porter's outfit to a similar 1980s look by ball culture icon Hector Xtravaganza. Ratelle confirmed that the resemblance was unintentional, but stated that he and Porter felt it was an honor "to pay our respects to Hector".[7] Fashion historian Lydia Edwards suggested that the use of black connected the dress to historical menswear and contemporary womenswear, and gave the ensemble a dignified yet dramatic impact.[13]
Porter described the ensemble as a political statement that challenges norms of masculinity and femininity. Speaking to Vogue in 2019, he said, "This look was interesting because it's not drag. I'm not a drag queen, I'm a man in a dress."[8] He later explained to Variety that he was interested in continuing to push the norms for what was considered acceptable for masculine red carpet fashion.[14] He also called his choice to wear a dress to the Oscars a business decision, saying that as an entertainer, seeking attention via fashion was part of how he earned a living.[15]
Reception
Fashion critics responded positively to the dress upon its debut, highlighting its elegant design and boundary-pushing gender expression. Erica Gonzales of Harper's Bazaar wrote that it "looked worthy of its own Academy Award."[12] Vanity Fair placed Porter on its "best dressed" list for 2019.[16] People called the dress "one of the biggest style moments of the Oscars red carpet".[17] Choire Sicha of The New York Times called his arrival "an exciting start" to the night, and expressed disappointment that few other guests dressed to subvert gender roles in the same way.[18] The Philadelphia Inquirer called Porter "the belle of the gender-bending red carpet season".[19] The New Yorker described it as "a sumptuous collision of butch-femme aesthetics".[9] Several outlets felt that Porter's look had stolen the show.[7][20] Some critics joked that he had "won" the red carpet completely.[9][21][22] Several critics noted that the dress generated a significant response on social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter.[23][24][25] Year-end data from the Google search engine showed that Porter's gown was the most-searched-for red carpet outfit of 2019.[26]
Porter did attract some criticism for wearing a dress on the red carpet.[27][28] American conservative political commentator Tomi Lahren called the look an "assault on masculinity".[29] Users on social media accused him of contributing to the emasculation of black men.[19][28] Porter dismissed these criticisms, saying, "I don't understand why my putting on a dress causes this much strife in your life."[4]
In February 2020, the Twitter account of long-running children's show Sesame Street posted photos of Porter wearing the dress while filming an appearance on the show, prompting criticism from conservative commentators. Arkansas Republican state senator Jason Rapert made a series of critical posts on Facebook, culminating in the suggestion that he would pass a bill to cut funding from Arkansas PBS, the local PBS affiliate.[30] Although long associated with Sesame Street, PBS had not actually funded the series since the program's move to HBO in 2015.[31] Porter went ahead with the episode as planned, saying "If you don't like it, don't watch it."[32][33]
Legacy
Following his appearance at the 91st Academy Awards, Porter became popularly known as a fashion icon; the tuxedo gown was frequently mentioned as his first high-profile fashion moment and one of his most fashionable overall.[35][36][37] According to Porter, his public profile took off after the Oscars, which he attributed directly to the impact of the tuxedo gown.[38][39] Porter expressed surprise at the reaction to the gown, saying "I didn't know it was going to be a thiiinnng."[40] In contrast, Siriano expected the dress to be a hit, saying "I don't think any man has ever worn a gown on the Oscars red carpet before."[17]
Fashion critics writing in retrospect have described the tuxedo gown as an iconic Oscars dress.
Academics have also considered the legacy of the dress. Queer theorist Kathryn Bond Stockton agreed with Porter's statement that the dress was an expression of power, rhetorically asking if it could "move whole systems".[45] Lydia Edwards agreed that the gown was a "powerful statement of the individual's queer identity", but felt that the ball gown was unlikely to become known as a "genderless" garment given its "unrelenting feminine history".[46] Elizabeth Castaldo Lundén placed the tuxedo dress in counterpoint to a long history of women wearing suits at the Oscars. Lundén also noted that although Porter wore another gown to the 92nd Academy Awards in 2020, the press had by then "incorporated his fashion statement into the usual pool of red-carpet critique", so it was no longer treated as unusual.[47]
In October 2021, Porter criticized Vogue for featuring English musician Harry Styles in a blue Gucci dress as their first male solo cover model.[48] He felt selecting a "straight white man" to represent genderfluid fashion was inappropriate, saying that he "had to fight my entire life to get to the place where I could wear a dress to the Oscars and not be gunned down. All he has to do is be white and straight".[49] Porter later apologized for bringing Styles into the conversation and said that his criticism was directed at "the systems of oppression and erasure of people of color who contribute to the culture" rather than Styles personally.[50]
A photograph of the gown was featured at Gender Bending Fashion, a 2019 exhibit at the
Porter attended the 80th Golden Globe Awards in 2023 as a presenter, wearing a fuchsia pink velvet tuxedo gown also by Siriano. He presented the Carol Burnett Award to his friend Ryan Murphy, with whom he had worked on Pose.[53] In his acceptance speech, Murphy explained that he had asked Porter to wear the original tuxedo gown again, and Porter replied, "Bitch, it’s in a museum".[54] Siriano created a new tuxedo gown for him to wear instead.[54]
See also
References
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- ^ Ramsey, David (February 3, 2020). "Rapert objects to appearance of gay actor Billy Porter on Sesame Street, questions AETN funding". Arkansas Times. Archived from the original on January 14, 2023. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
- ^ Steel, Emily (August 13, 2015). "'Sesame Street' to Air First on HBO for Next 5 Seasons". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 1, 2021. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
Now, PBS will not pay Sesame Workshop a licensing fee, which now is about $4 million a year, according to an executive with knowledge of the funding who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
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- ^ a b Brookins, Laurie (January 11, 2023). "Golden Globes: The Best-Dressed Stars and All the Fashion Details". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 14, 2023. Retrieved January 14, 2023.