From goose around the neck to 294 credit cards: Quirkiest Oscars outfits of all time

Celebrity stylist and creative director Apuje Kalu is working with several A-list celebrities attending this year’s Academy Awards and after-parties. So what goes into a successful Oscars look? Part of the key to pulling it off is making sure attendees are comfortable and confident.

“When styling my clients I’m very collaborative. We have meetings, we talk strategy, we exchange images, but ultimately they’re the ones that are facing the cameras, so I want to ensure that … I’m not forcing a vision or look onto them,” he said Friday. “But I’m also not afraid to push them.”

US actress Emma Stone speaks after she won the Best Actress award in "La La Land" at the 89th Oscars on February 26, 2017 in Hollywood, California AFP / Mark RALSTON

As for what to look for this year? “There’s going to be a lot of volumes, like really big gowns on the carpet this year. We’re coming back at the Oscars and people are looking forward to making statements and to be being seen. Also, you’ll see a lot of sleek silhouettes. Everyone’s body type can’t carry maybe a really big gown, and some people look really good in sleek silhouettes showing off their figure but still being covered and still being tasteful,” he said.

Kalu expects bold hues to rule on the carpet this year. “You’re going to see color on the carpet this year, whether it be primary colors or jewel tones. So, look forward to people (making) statements because we’ve been locked down for so long and it’s been kind of an absence of their opulence.”

With Oscars just around the corner, we bring you the three quirkiest looks of all time!

Lizzy Gardiner, 1995

The real million-dollar dress wowed the audience at the 1995 red carpet when Lizzy Gardiner wore a thigh slit dress made completely out of - wait for it - 254 American Express Gold cards, all joined together by wire. “On the night it really upset a lot of people,” Gardiner later reflected. “A lot of women, I think they felt upstaged or pissed off that I wasn’t taking things as seriously as I should.”

Björk, 2001

Talk about standing out in the crowd - literally! It was the dress that shook the globe: Icelandic singer Björk ditched the quintessential gown for bringing us one of the biggest pop-culture moments of all time. The singer, much to onlooker's amusement, wore a swan dress by Marjan Pejoski to the 2001 Oscars. The frock’s full skirt and long swan neck, wrapped around Bjork’s own like a scarf, have since been preserved in museums around the globe. The controversial look even came with an egg-shaped purse to match. The singer brought six ostrich eggs with her and scattered them on the red carpet. “Other people’s bodyguards kept picking them up and saying in their thick American accents, ‘’Scuse me, ma’am, you dropped this,’” she told GQ.

Billy Porter, 2019

Hot damn, Billy! The actor stole the spotlight when he attended the 2019 Oscars in a custom-made elaborate ball gown, not a tuxedo, by Christian Siriano. “I’ve always wanted to wear a ball gown, I just didn’t know when,” Porter had told Vogue of the look. “I want people to understand that you don’t have to understand or even agree with other people’s authenticity or truths, but we must all respect each other. People are going to be really uncomfortable with my black ass in a ball gown—but it’s not anybody’s business but mine.”

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