Bjork's swan gown at the Oscars in 2001 was a showstopper, and not in a good way. But one Oscar nominee can take credit (pun intended) for the most bizarre look on the red carpet: the American Express dress.
Here's the story. The woman in the golden gown of plastic, Lizzy Gardiner, was nominated for best costume design back in 1994. The dress was an idea she had dreamed up for the movie "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert."
According to the Credit Card Forum blog, the credit card company had passed on the "Priscilla" dress concept for the film but liked the idea of the nominee wearing it to the Academy Awards ceremony so much that it sent her 300 custom platinum cards with her name embossed on them.
The dress was a success: Gardiner won the award and was then featured in American Express ads.
No question about it, the gown may have been a play for corporate sponsorship, but it certainly did not win its maker any marks for fashion sense. Cosmopolitan rated it as one of the "worst Oscar dresses ever."
Time also gave it a thumbs-down, calling it "tacky." Maybe next time Gardiner will use one of those cards to buy herself a better dress.
Claudine Zap writes for Yahoo! and has previously covered events including the royal wedding, the 10-year anniversary of Sept. 11, the Super Bowl, and the Grammys.
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