Lady Gaga’s appearance at the 95th Academy Awards was a study in contrast! While walking the champagne carpet, she looked super glamorous in a sheer black Versace gown, with heavy black eyeliner and a bold red lip. However, for her performance of the Oscar-nominated song Hold My Hand, she opted for a stripped-back look.
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She removed her makeup, changed into jeans and a plain black T-shirt, and wore a pair of simple black Converse trainers. Her hair was pulled back into a tight braid, and when she addressed the audience, she spoke of how personal the song she would be performing was to her.
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During her performance, Lady Gaga urged the audience to love and support one another, and to be their own heroes, even in times of adversity.
The performance was dedicated to the late Tony Scott, director of the movie Top Gun, and a photo of him with Tom Cruise appeared on screen at the end of the performance. The song, Hold My Hand, was originally recorded for the Top Gun film.
Apart from Lady Gaga’s stripped back performance, the Oscars made another departure from tradition by changing the colour of the red carpet for the first time since 1961. Instead of the iconic Academy Red, a soft champagne colour was used.
While host Jimmy Kimmel joked that the change was made to prevent any bloodshed on the red carpet, the real reason was more practical…
The decision to use a “soothing” and “mellow” colour was to ensure that the carpet could work for the transition to the day-to-night event, without clashing with the orange tent erected over the carpet to shield guests from bad weather conditions.
According to red carpet creative consultant Lisa Love, the colour of the tent had to be a darker colour to block the light, and was chosen to connote the colour of sunset. The soft champagne colour was chosen to get ready for the golden hour that followed the show, and to evoke the feeling of watching the sunset from a sandy beach with a glass of champagne in hand.
Thus, the change in colour was not only practical but also added a touch of elegance and glamour to the event.
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