Elizabeth Hurley Says Safety-Pin Dress Was Not Planned as a Fashion Moment

Elizabeth Hurley says her 1994 Versace safety-pin dress was a last-minute borrow handed over in a white plastic bag and not intended to create a fashion moment. Now 61, she discusses fit, styling and her messy wardrobe.

Elizabeth Hurley says her famous Versace safety-pin dress was never intended to create a fashion moment. The dress, worn at the Four Weddings and a Funeral premiere in 1994, was a last-minute borrow handed over by a publicist in a white plastic bag.

Now 61, Hurley remains one of fashion's most confident red-carpet figures. She has embraced showmanship throughout her career, wearing glitter, bodycon, plunge necklines and thigh-high splits, from Elton John's Oscars party to an unexpected award in a German spa town. She is a patron of the Elton John Aids Foundation. She said: You can wear the most beautiful dress in the world, but if it does not fit properly, you will never feel your best.

Hurley Embraces Red Carpet Showmanship

She added: I have always found it much easier to dress for the red carpet than for everyday life. I find black-tie events easy-peasy, but smart-casual surprisingly tricky. Many celebrities feign shyness about red-carpet dressing and call it part of the job to tolerate. Hurley instead embraces the showmanship wholeheartedly.

Her approach has barely changed since she arrived in showbusiness in the 1990s, starring in films such as Austin Powers and Mad Dogs and Englishmen and upstaging her then-partner Hugh Grant at the Four Weddings and a Funeral premiere. There have been subtle tweaks. I engage in the art of eliminating what I do not like and highlighting what I do, she said of finding the right gown. Fit always comes first.

I am not bad at altering things myself, but I also have a good alterationist and I am forever having clothes nipped and tucked. She said of the Versace look: It is very flattering because, at the time, I certainly was not thinking about creating a fashion moment; I just wore what I could get my hands on.

Versace Dress Inspired Naked Dressing Trend

The safety-pin dress is still regarded as seminal, effectively unclasping a trend for naked dressing later reworked by stars such as Kim Kardashian and Beyonce. Hurley remains their pin-up and is still cited on designer mood boards some 30 years later. It was not the only outfit she wore in the 1990s to have a major impact and land her on front pages worldwide.

She said: I remember in the 90s wearing a lace Emanuel Ungaro dress that was completely see-through, with large knickers underneath. It was about 30 years ahead of its time and I think it was viewed back then as eye-poppingly risqué. But by today's standards, it would be very tame. Ditto my Versace safety-pin dress; it was considered extremely shocking and special 30 years ago; I doubt anyone would turn a hair if it were debuted today.

Hurley did not use a professional stylist back then, but has collaborated with several since. She said: Through the 90s and 2000s, I was sent all my red-carpet looks directly from brands such as Versace, Gucci and Fendi, with whom I still have wonderful relationships. Freddie Leiba sourced some of her favourite film looks, while New York-based stylist Ann Caruso still puts together the vast pink wardrobes she wears for breast cancer fundraising.

She added that Mike Adler, who she works with in the UK, pulls great looks including the magnificent Celia Kritharioti dress she wore to the Vanity Fair Oscars party last year. For everyday dressing, she recalls advice from Valentino, who sadly passed away earlier this year. She said: Valentino used to always tell me that everything had to look easy. Never looking like you tried too hard.

Mixing Zara With Hermes Defines Her Style

Mix new with old. Mix Zara with Hermes. The object was to not look like a lady who lunched. Her friend Joan Collins, 93, is another influence.

I call her mommy dearest, Hurley said. Joan is exactly the same in private as she is in public: incredibly energetic, extremely funny, and gorgeously stylish. Hurley shops for dresses from Versace, Zhivago and Roberto Cavalli and resort wear from Charo Ruiz Ibiza and her own brand, Elizabeth Hurley Beach. Two recent advertising campaigns for Canadian label Joseph Ribkoff helped address a self-acknowledged missing link: polished daywear.

She said: The clothes are elegant, flattering and incredibly easy to wear. They make you feel put together without looking as though you have tried too hard. Everything was also very comfortable, which is my be-all and end-all. I cannot abide anything that digs in anywhere.

Hurley Admits To Hoarding Fashion Pieces

The comment is notable from a woman who previously admitted tolerating boning so sharp it made her bleed. Her wardrobe at her Georgian mansion in Herefordshire, UK, is messy, she admits, but she knows where everything is. She splits her time between there and Nashville, home of her partner of two years, country singer Billy Ray Cyrus. She joked: Most people think my closet looks like I have been burgled.

I am a perfect candidate for a hoarding show as I loathe throwing anything out. I have kept pretty much everything I have ever worn, except my Versace safety-pin dress, which is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. I have way too much and it is overflowing. I often do a swoop and put things in boxes, but frequently burrow through them and out it all comes again.

I exhaust myself with my messiness. In the Herefordshire countryside, fans see a more off-duty Hurley. She loves being outdoors, and her Instagram followers have seen her as a girly farmer, lambing in pigtails and pink lip gloss.

Compiled from 3 sourcesCompiled by HeadTopics editors by cross-checking the verified news reports listed here.

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This story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.

Versace Safety-Pin Dress Red Carpet Fashion Joseph Ribkoff Celebrity Style 1994 Four Weddings Premiere

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