That One Time...

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Looking back on my career, there are a handful of red carpet moments where I felt things shift. Olivia Wilde at the 2014 Golden Globes was one of them.

At the time, I’d been working with Olivia for 8 years. She's my OG. The very first client I ever had. She was also pregnant, for the very first time.

Having never dressed a pregnant woman before, I began our fitting with typical red carpet pregnancy gowns. Empire waisted dresses, flowy goddessy frocks. The sort of heavenly, romantic looks we’ve all seen on pregnant women. Olivia looked pretty, of course, but it was all just fine. It didn’t feel too special.

I didn’t feel satisfied with any of them, so I brought out something a little different. It was this dark queen, long sleeved, fitted sequined Gucci number. The dress was really new, and hot, and nothing like what we’d seen on a pregnant woman before. It was just, sexy.

Of course, it could not have fit Olivia better. It was like it’d been painted on her body, hugging her in all the right places. We both looked at each other, and were just like… fuck it. Let’s do it. From there, Olivia had the idea of keeping her hair wavy. Her make up artist Melanie added the smokey eye.

Every single detail leaned in to the fact that pregnant women are just really, fucking hot.

The look was a huge success. Not just because Olivia felt great, but because we changed the visual narrative around pregnant women. On one of the biggest platforms in the world, we showed that women can be pregnant, and sexy, and independent, and cool… all at the same time.

The morning after the Golden Globes, I got a call from a major LA agent.

“How does it fucking feel to make a pregnant woman the sexiest woman on a red carpet??” he barked into his phone.

I paused, smiling to myself. “My child's in the car with me!” I said, on our way to preschool. “And you’re on speakerphone!”

Looking back, that night wasn’t just about making a pregnant woman look sexy. Pregnant women are always sexy. It was about giving the industry the greenlight.

Ever since that moment, styling for pregnant women has just not been the same. Whether it’s Beyonce’s red sequins at the 2017 Grammys or Jodie Turner Smith choosing a crop top for Graham Norton, it’s clear that stylists, talent, and designers are taking more risks and redefining what it means to be a pregnant woman in the media. We showed them it was possible.

So yes, we changed the conversation with one look. I actively felt things shift.

And also...

Pregnant women will always, always, always be sexy. On or off the red carpet.

x Karla