The ceremony’s biggest political statements might come not from the podium, but on the catwalk outside, as the stars hit the campaign trail Hollywood cares about most
Hollywood has had a lot to say for itself recently. Meryl Streep, a 20-time Academy Award nominee, riled the Trump White House with her Golden Globes speech. Tom Ford, who directed Nocturnal Animals, refuses to dress the first lady. George Clooney says of Donald Trump: “I didn’t vote for him, I don’t support him, I don’t think he’s the right choice.” Natalie Portman, meanwhile, took to the podium at last month’s Women’s March in Los Angeles to call for a women’s revolution against the US president. Graydon Carter’s Vanity Fair, the publication of record for the west coast entertainment industry, has pulled no punches in its editorial attacks on Trump. In the new America, Hollywood has become the opposition.
As a result, this Oscars night could look unusual long before the speeches begin. The red carpet rivals the best picture announcement for the biggest part of Oscars night. This is a mufti moment for the actors – a rare chance to play themselves rather than their characters, to remind the public of their beauty or their magnetism or their sweetness, or whatever it is that gets their target audience on side – so what they wear matters.
Related: The new culture war: how Hollywood took on Trump
The Oscars red carpet is a snapshot of our feminine ideal that has global reach. Even small recalibrations have meaning
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