Editor’s Note: Delving into the archives of popular culture historical past, “Remember When?” is a NCS Style collection providing a nostalgic look at the movie star outfits that outlined their eras.
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Was 1999 a less complicated time? With dumber telephones and fuss-free styling, Y2K-era nostalgia has been sturdy, and its trend isn’t any exception. What was as soon as a daring red-carpet look wouldn’t look out of place on the streets immediately — particularly, the peek-a-boo cardigan Salma Hayek wore to the Cannes Film Festival that 12 months.
The actor, who had two movies premiering at Cannes — the Gabriel Garcia Márquez adaptation “No One Writes to the Colonel” and Kevin Smith-directed fantasy-comedy “Dogma” — paired her baby-blue short-sleeve sweater (fixed suggestively with simply two buttons and a bra peeking by means of) with a full, flowing satin skirt in a sister shade.
Hayek wore the unconventional two-piece to the amfAR Gala at Cannes, and accessorized with a silver clutch and lavish jewellery, choosing an identical set of sapphire and diamond earrings, necklace and bracelet. Later, she traded the necklace for an elephant-shaped pendant as she danced on stage with Ben Affleck, her co-star in “Dogma.”
Voluminous satin silhouettes had a second at the pageant: Geraldine Chaplin wore an A-line maxi skirt in white with a plunging V-neck shirt and a dramatic stack of pearls round her neck, whereas Catherine Zeta-Jones went full promenade queen with a halter-neck powder-pink robe. But Hayek stood out for daring to pair hers with the unexpectedly informal: a fuzzy knit.
Hayek’s laissez-faire styling wasn’t contrived, both. Over 20 years later, the actor revealed that she had picked out the look herself.
“It was taking a chance… I took a sweater that’s supposed to be (worn) with something underneath — because it only had two buttons — and a skirt, and made my own fashion style,” mentioned Hayek in a video recounting a few of her finest trend moments for Vogue, which called the Cannes match a “look-at-me combination.”
“Little did I know that Vogue one day was gonna say (it was) one of your iconic looks,” she added, explaining how the ensemble was a results of her “creativity” throughout a time when she didn’t have many sources to decorate for the purple carpet.
At that time in her profession, Hayek was no stranger to getting herself prepared for the glitzy movie star circuit. She advised the trend journal that she struggled to seek out designers who would offer her with outfits for her earlier red-carpet appearances.
“Nobody thought a Mexican would stick around, so why give me a dress?” she mentioned.
By the time Hayek stepped out in her breezy red-carpet-ready cardigan, she already had quite a few progressive, self-styled seems to be underneath her belt. At the MTV Movie Awards in 1998, she accessorized a easy little black gown with a flutter of butterflies painted on her physique — a nod to the period’s non permanent tattoo pattern, and a intelligent technique to skip carrying costly jewellery, she defined to Vogue. The 12 months earlier than, Hayek opted for a tiara at her first Academy Awards look, rebelling in opposition to recommendation from those that advised her it will be “ridiculous,” she recalled.
“Everybody started wearing a tiara after that and I never got credit for that trend,” she mentioned in the video.
Her suggestive, nothing-underneath cardigan has equally change into a throwback staple, popularized by manufacturers like Reformation who advertise them styled with satin skirts.
In 2019, Katie Holmes went viral for her equally slouchy and stylish Khaite cardigan and bralette, whereas designers like Jacquemus, whose cropped, barely-there cardis have been a favourite of celebrities like Bella Hadid and Hailey Bieber.
Though Hayek can’t get all the credit score for pioneering cropped cardigans in the Nineteen Nineties — the period noticed Rose McGowan’s character in the cult flick “Jawbreaker” in a purple model, whereas Drew Barrymore, Christina Aguilera and Mena Suvari rocked them in varied shades — it was a daring alternative for Cannes, which is thought for its strict gown code. (This week, the pageant announced a ban on nudity, seemingly taking goal at the ‘naked’ gown pattern, in addition to voluminous attire, from official occasions).
While Hayek now has her decide of designer items to put on on the purple carpet, her artistic mixture for Cannes stays timeless. Like all the trend beloved from the decade, it’s straightforward, enjoyable — and comes in child blue.