HypeGirls

Last night was the pinnacle event of awards season: The 84^th Annual Academy Awards. Los Angeles was swarming with the elite of Hollywood in preparation for the most glamorous night of the year.

These red carpet events are mostly about fashion and, I’ll be honest, I’m not as well versed in fashion as some of my Hype Girl editor counterparts. So I sought the help of Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM) graduate and local style geniusLisa Aragon for her thoughts on the night’s fashion.

Favorite Dress of the Evening: Milla Jovovich was an instant wow in a silvery-white Elie Saab gown. Another favorite was Octavia Spencer in a Tadashi Shojidress that complimented her every curve. Spencer’s co-star Jessica Chastain looked stunning in a black and gold Alexander McQueen gown.

Honorable mentions go to Giuliana Rancic in Tony Ward Couture and Viola Davis in an emerald Vera Wang and her lovely natural hairstyle.

Least Favorite Dress of the Evening: Lisa was not a fan of Michelle Williams coral – was a red? Pomegranate? – Louis Vuitton gown.

Perhaps the most interesting dress of the night may have been ‘The Artist‘ actress Missi Pyle‘s eco-friendly gown. It was designed by Valentina Delfino for the Red Carpet Green Dress contest.

Fashion aside, the night is meant to honor all that makes a great film great.

Best Original Score went to Ludovic Bource for his work in “The Artist”.

Best original song went to “Man or Muppet” written and arranged by Bret McKenzie for ‘The Muppets‘. You may recognize Mr. McKenzie from ‘Flight of the Conchords‘.

Achievement in Sound Editing and Achievement in Sound Mixing both went to the movie ‘Hugo‘.

In other Academy Awards music news, Pharrell Williams and Hans Zimmer teamed up to successfully create the music for this year’s Oscars. And, during the ‘In Memorandum’ portion of the show, Grammy winner Esperanza Spalding sang “What a Wonderful World” beautifully.

Being a music fanatic, my favorite awards are centered around sound. But there are lots of other important awards. The following were the biggest of the night:

“Undefeated,” a film backed by Sean “P-Diddy”Combs won best documentary.

Octavia Spencer received an Academy Award for her supporting role in “The Help“.

Christopher Plummer won his first Oscar for his supporting role in “Beginners” at age eighty-two, making him the oldest to win an Academy Award.

Jean Dujardin took home the Best Actor Academy Award for his starring role in “The Artist”.

Meryl Streep, the most nominated actress in the business, won the award for Best Actress, beating out Viola Davis, Rooney Mara, and others.

The most coveted honor, Best Film, went to “The Artist.”

The 84^th Academy Awards ceremony was held at the Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, California. For a full list of winners please visit www.oscars.com.