InStyle's Hal Rubenstein Dishes on 100 Unforgettable Dresses at LACMA
InStyle Fashion Director Hal Rubenstein discusses Liz Hurley's 1994 Versace safety-pin dress with Los Angeles Times Fashion Critic Booth Moore.
The launch of Liz Hurley’s career wasn’t a film, it was her infamous safety-pin dress designed by Versace, which she wore to the premiere of then-boyfriend Hugh Grant’s “Four Weddings and A Funeral,” according to Hal Rubenstein, fashion director of InStyle magazine.
The dress is just one of the 100 mentioned in Rubenstein’s latest book, “100 Unforgettable Dresses.”
The fashion director and author spoke with Los Angeles Times Fashion Critic Booth Moore to discuss the dresses and their influence on fashion and culture at an event hosted by The Costume Council of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on Wednesday.
Diane Von Furstenberg’s iconic wrap dress, Bob Mackie’s “spider dress” worn by Cher at the 1986 Academy Awards, First Lady Michelle Obama’s ethereal white Inaugural Ball gown designed by Jason Wu, and Princess Diana’s giant meringue wedding dress were just some of the pieces he discussed.
Rubenstein described Diana’s over-the-top gown with an extraordinarily long train as “hideous,” “horrific,” and that “it belonged on top of a cake.” Despite this, the dress was responsible for influencing the wedding industry for the next decade, Rubenstein noted.
“It was a fairy tale we all wanted to believe in,” he said.
Eight years later, on the day Prince Charles’ affair with Camilla Parker Bowles went public, Diana presented herself in a short, tight, black v-necked “revenge dress,” also chronicled in the book.
Rubenstein’s talk centered around the ability for clothes to make a statement beyond fashion, such as Marilyn Monroe’s nude dress she wore while serenading President John F. Kennedy with a sultry rendition of “Happy Birthday, Mr. President,” or Nicole Kidman’s introduction of haute couture to the red carpet in 1997 with Galliano’s embroidered chartreuse sleeveless gown.
“It costs $60,000 to $200,000 for a couture dress,” Rubenstein explained, and wearing such a costly creation was a clear statement of power and prestige.
Kate Middleton's 2011 wedding dress was responsible for ushering in a new era of wedding gowns.
