Outfits of the Week: Emilia Pérez

Emilia Pérez has been an Oscar contender since its world premiere in Cannes back in May. Jacques Audiard is already considered a cinematic legend, and all four women of the cast were named Best Actress at that festival. The film was then screened at TIFF last month, reigniting momentum for its Oscar campaign. And it’s impressive that they’ve been able to sustain it. Emilia Pérez is, currently, the frontrunner for a Best Picture nomination. I’m not talking about the win, I’m talking about the nomination. Out of all the films in contention, this is the one that seems a lock for an invitation to compete. And at this point, it’s just a matter of how many nominations Emilia Pérez will come in with. Best Picture and Best International Film, for sure. Jacques Audiard is going for the triple – Picture, Director, and Adapted Screenplay. This is a musical so there could be song nominations. And, perhaps, multiple acting nominations as Karla Sofia Gascon could make history as the first trans actress nominated for Best Actress and Zoe Saldana is actually the current frontrunner for Best Supporting Actress. 

I didn’t see Emilia Pérez at TIFF. But I went to the official afterparty right after the premiere where film critics from most of the major entertainment outlets were hanging out immediately following the screening. And they were buzzing from it, super hype – the overwhelming consensus is that the film is wild, unpredictable, totally fresh. Which is what makes its Oscar contention so exciting, because it sounds like we have a film in the conversation that is a big swing, not unlike the way Everything Everywhere All At Once was a big swing. I can’t wait to see it. 

Emilia Pérez will have a theatrical run for two weeks starting November 1 in North America before streaming on Netflix November 13. It will open a week earlier in Europe, which is why Jacques Audiard was in London yesterday with his cast who served up our Outfits of the Week. 

Let’s start with the lead, Emilia herself, Karla Sofia Gascon, the embodiment of classy and demure in a classic Self Portrait dress. You’ll note she’s carrying a cute little Saint Laurent handbag: 

Karla’s stylist, Freddy Alonso, has had her in Saint Laurent a few times lately. Check her out in this spectacular white dress, custom Saint Laurent, last week: 

The Academy Museum Gala is happening next weekend and I can’t imagine that Emilia Pérez won’t be represented. Will be interested to see if Karla’s there, whether or not she ends up in Saint Laurent, and how much more Saint Laurent we’ll be seeing on her as we get deeper into the season. 

Now to Adriana Paz in an outstanding pantsuit. The tailoring here is gorgeous, I love how the collar frames her neck. But the best feature is the layering. The waistcoat underneath falls below the hips. The blazer falls just to the waist but angles inward towards the chest, highlighted by those two corner grommets. This might be my favourite black suit of the year. 

And then there’s Selena Gomez, f-cking stunning in Schiaparelli, instantly identifiable by the key cutout. I keep saying it but I have to keep saying it – the difference in Selena’s styling now that she’s working with Erin Walsh, it’s breathtaking. She has not missed, not once. And Selena, you can tell, it’s so obvious, is feeling the sh-t out of herself. 

The Selena Gomez-Erin Walsh collaboration is a major success story. And if Emilia Pérez really does go all the way this award season, we’ll be seeing so much more of this great work. PS, shout-out to Selena’s hair and makeup team, too, because that’s a flawless blowout and the face card is paying for everyone right now. 

Speaking of stylists, though, it’s fitting that we finish with Zoe Saldana, not just because this outfit is f-cking incredible but because it’s Zoe who I’ve now pointed to for ELEVEN YEARS as setting the standard for how celebrities should value stylists and their place in the entertainment industry. This is a quote I often refer to, from way back in 2013, when Zoe and her stylist, Petra Flannery, where featured in The Hollywood Reporter’s Power Stylists list for that year. That was well before the stars, particularly female stars, were able to properly articulate the fact that the clothes are part of the work. A good example of this is Blake Lively who, three whole ass years after Zoe laid down the gospel about how what she wears is a professional asset, Blake popped off on a red carpet when asked about what she was wearing. She’s since come around but she was late to this party which is why it makes me crazy when the amateurs on social media keep calling her a style “icon”. PLEASE. To be an icon you have to respect it from the very beginning. 

Here's that Zoe Saldana quote from 2013: 

“We’ve managed to convince a lot of directors who now have respect for what we put together and for Petra’s essential place in a huge press tour like Star Trek or Avatar.” When Saldana takes a memorable turn on the carpet, “Those directors are like, ‘Oh my God, Petra really knocked it out of the ball park,’ and you’re like, ‘Yeah, she did.’ She killed it, which is very important for me and for her and for selling a movie.”

That was over a decade ago, and look at how it’s aged in the context of press tours, social media, and style strategy: beautifully. 

Zoe and Petra have been style partners now for almost 20 years. Same goes for her hair and makeup team, Mara Roszak and Vera Steimberg. This is the crew that will be with Zoe as she campaigns for that Oscar. And their work in London yesterday was indeed award worthy. 

This Saint Laurent leather shirt-jacket is unreal – so soft and buttery, it almost smells like caramel through the photos. Pairing it over the skirt, though, is what elevates the whole look. It’s that sheer section at the thighs that gives it symmetry and proportion. To me this is symphony of art and work.