Floating handles? Why Emily Blunt and Florence Pugh’s dresses caught attention at the Oscars

Emily Blunt appeared at the Oscars, arm in arm with her husband, actor John Krasinski, as her dress rejected a premise: its straps refused to touch her arms. Her cleavage floated, as if it had been lifted from her Oscar-nominated shoulders by invisible fingers.

These fingers would theoretically belong to Daniel Roseberry, creative director of French fashion house Schiaparelli. The dress initially appeared on the catwalk at the brand’s spring-summer 2024 haute couture show, in a collection inspired by space, astrology and the heavens (one of the models carried a robot baby).

Around Blunt’s hips, the dress — already covered in nude sequins — featured a trompe l’œil outline of men’s briefs in silver sequins. Fashion commentators for the E! they continued to refer to the champagne dress as “sporty”, given the tank-style straps.

Then came Florence Pugh, who starred in “Oppenheimer” alongside Blunt. Her straps also stood straight, coming off her shoulders, in a dress made by the young Milanese brand Del Core (although its floating straps weren’t as rigidly sculptural as those on Blunt’s dress).

Designer Daniel Del Core said in September, when the dress debuted on the runway, that he was “fascinated by architectural structures as much as natural forms and their relationships.” The rest of Pugh’s dress resembled a marine organism, with its frothy blue-gray color, reef-shaped bodice, and glazed embellishments that resembled water drops.

The Oscars red carpet tends to be quite traditional — think long trains, bejeweled strapless gowns and other romantic silhouettes associated with Old Hollywood glamour. So it was shocking to see such an unusual design element on Blunt and even more surprising to see it replicated on Pugh.

There were some other daring necklines on Sunday night (10). Best actress nominee Sandra Hüller’s off-shoulder sleeves were wickedly sharp, and fellow nominee Lily Gladstone’s strapless neckline was adorned with feathers made in collaboration by Gucci and Ironhouse Quillwork’s Joe Big Mountain. For Blunt and Pugh, their floating necklines injected a bit of subversion into their predictably glossy looks.

But not everyone liked the straps. The dresses were polarizing on social media. But they stood out. The word that came to mind, literally, was elevation.