Did Popular Book Covers Inspire the Red Carpet?
It seems celebrities (and designers) are reading more these days.
Something funny happened when I was watching the Oscars last night. I started noticing how many Red Carpet looks echoed some of the most popular book covers of the last year. Truly! Artists inspire artists, and it made me wonder if some of the designers had read these books or if they’d simply seen them constantly in airport bookshops? Or maybe actresses were subconsciously drawn to these dresses simply because they’d loved one of these books? Take a look at these rather literary pairings.
Harper’s Bazaar called Eva Longoria “utterly angelic” in her art-deco gown designed by Zuhair Murad. Which makes sense since all I could see was the cover of Kate Atkinson’s glittery historical fiction hit Shrines of Gaiety. The novel, set in London in 1926, follows Nellie Coker, a ruthless and ambitious mother determined to advance the position of her six children. Do you see how similar the pattern is up close?
The bottom half of singer, rapper and actress Janelle Monae’s stunning Vera Wang dress is the exact color that was used on the cover of Maggie O’Farrell’s The Marriage Portrait. There’s even something about the way the skirt is cut away from the bustier that mimics the cut-outs of orange on O’Farrell’s book.
Actress Cate Blanchett is known to favor sustainable fabrics to make a statement on the Red Carpet. So isn’t it interesting that her Louis Vuitton dress had a similar color palette to Celeste Ng’s hit novel Our Missing Hearts, a novel set in a dystopian future where no one is allowed to speak out against anything?
My friend Natalie Lester’s novel The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre just recently came out, so this one is a reach…but when I saw actress Cara Delevingne (Only Murders in the Building), I immediately remembered Lester’s glamorous cover. Even if Delevingne was going for Old Hollywood glam, the mood and colors of her dress echoed this stunning cover.
The Christie Affair came out in January 2022 and it was one of my favorite historical fiction novels that I read last summer. Isn’t the sparkly Gucci design worn by actress Jessica Chastain so similar to the cover? The book, which takes place during the infamous 11 day disappearance of Agatha Christie, is an absolute page-turner. There were other glittery dresses at the Oscars last night, too. Did you see Michelle Williams’s gown? But Chastian’s plunging neckline reminded me of the dress on Nina de Gramont’s elegant cover.
If Elizabeth Zott, the feisty heroine in Bonnie Garmus’s Lessons in Chemistry, was invited to the Academy Awards, she would definitely buck the trend of a long, flowing gown. Sarah Polley, who directed “Women Talking,” which I’m dying to watch, wore a ruffly tuxedo shirt and suit by Saint Laurent. While I don’t think her look was inspired by the novel, I do think it was inspired by this cultural moment that made Lessons a blockbuster. A time when gender is fluid, women are tired of taking other people’s sh*&, and they’re not going to shut up about it. Besides I love that a talented woman director can choose to show up dressed any old way she wants and still potentially win the award.
Kelly Barnhill’s novel When Women Were Dragons is described as, “A rollicking feminist tale set in 1950s America where thousands of women have spontaneously transformed into dragons, exploding notions of a woman’s place in the world and expanding minds about accepting others for who they really are.” Not only does actress Angela Bassett’s dress feel as though it bloomed right off that cover, but I could see Bassett’s activist side loving Barnhill’s empowered pages.
Which actress’s Red Carpet look did you love most? It doesn’t have to be one that I included. Give a shout in the comments. Happy Monday all!! xo
Did Popular Book Covers Inspire the Red Carpet?
I’d say with the rise if bookstagram and booktok covers are more likely to be seen by more people. Equally they could be trends which are echoed in fashion. I still use pinterest to inspire my design work but I’m sure instagram and tik tok will be sources to many. I don’t design book covers but I would love it. There’s been some great covers in the past couple of years 🙌🏻
What a fun post; I didn't watch the Oscars, but had I watched it I never would have come up with this. You have a wonderful imagination!