Charlize Theron and Kerry Washington Try High-Low Fashion A La Sharon Stone
It’s still over a week until Halloween, but Charlize Theron and Kerry Washington have their joint costume sorted out. Apparently, they’re going as Sharon Stone and Zendaya at the Oscars. Not particularly timely costumes, but definitely fashionable ones. On Tuesday night, both actresses arrived to the premiere of Netflix’s The School for Good and Evil wearing oddly coordinated looks, both embracing the high-low fashion style initially popularized by Stone in 1998, and recently referenced by Zendaya just this year.
Theron, who plays Lady Leonora, the Dean of the School of Evil, in the film, dressed the part at the premiere, wearing an all-black ensemble courtesy of Dior. Styled by Leslie Fremar, Charlize arrived to the red carpet in a large, tiered black shirt with a slit traveling all the way up one side to the waistband. On top, she opted for a sheer black button down with a black bra visible underneath, and a trio of flowers decorating the neckline. She finished off the ensemble with fishnet stockings and lace knee-high boots from Maria Grazia Chiuri’s resort 2023 collection.
Theron was joined on the red carpet by her costar Washington, who fittingly portrays Professor Clarissa Dovey, Dean of the School for Good, in the film. So, while Theron was in black, Washington went for a more cheery color—a kind of tea green. The ensemble was courtesy of Ralph Lauren, and resembled similar high-low looks the designer just presented at his spring 2023 collection last week. A green skirt sat on Washington’s mid-waist with a knot before continuing down the floor into a train, splitting to reveal the actress’ leg and metallic brown platform heels. On top, Washington wore a cropped polo with the designer’s monogram stitched onto the left chest.
Did these women coordinate their looks to emphasize the dichotomy of their characters? It’s possible, or it could have been a complete coincidence. But one has to imagine that either way, they both had Stone and Zendaya in the back of their minds when discussing these looks. Especially Washington, as she shares a stylist with Zendaya in Law Roach, who was behind Zendaya’s Oscar look this year.
As a reminder, Zendaya attended the 2022 Academy Awards in a Valentino ensemble featuring a silver, sequin-covered column skirt with a train, paired with a cropped white button down. Law and Zendaya later confirmed the look was inspired by Stone who, twenty-four years earlier, attended the same award show in a purple satin Vera Wang skirt with a Gap button-down on top, a combination that was unexpected, but worked so well. Clearly, as it is still being referenced to this day.
