From couture back to vintage for Oscar pre-show

Grand Rapids, Mich. (WOTV) - Get ready for a pre-show like you’ve never seen before! The red carpet is going to be dressed a little differently this year, says Charlie Haykel and producing partner Juliane Hare. Couture floating across the red carpet is what we have seen throughout the history of the Oscars, yet Sunday the Academy is mixing it up with a look back on vintage fashion.

As I walk down the red carpet during Oscars set up, I see kiosks along the stretch of carpet where the giant statuettes once sat will be large-scale blowups of original costume sketches. Over 20 sketches line the red carpet including ones from such fashion-influencing movies as Bonnie and Clyde, Gone With the Wind and Roman Holiday.  This year, actresses in their couture Oscar gowns will be photographed with pictures of major Oscar costume sketches as their backdrop. The idea behind the dress sketching is designed to give viewers a look through the history of fashion, and at changes in silhouettes of gowns and dresses over the years. The idea will also add new visual element to the opening of the show.

"This was an idea that Oscar producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron had in our first meeting. They wanted to involve Oscar-winning costumes with the red carpet. They wanted to find a way in the production to tastefully integrate them and open the door to how costume design has influenced fashion."

This year, the show’s opening number will be a look back in time reflecting on the vintage gowns that have draped the iconic Oscars carpet throughout the years.

The 85th Annual Academy Awards will take place on Sunday, February 24 on WOTV4Women.