Armpit hair, no make-up and fearlessly flaunting their sexuality: these are the women who refused to play along and are the three most notorious rebels who shunned red carpet rules.
Wearing a swan, Bjork laid eggs on the red carpet! In 2001, Björk turned up to the Oscars in what will forever be known as the Swan Dress, thanks to the stuffed creature that wrapped its long neck around the singer’s own. “I was very aware when I went to the Academy Awards that it would probably be my first and last time,” she said. “So I thought my input should really be about fertility, and I thought I’d bring some eggs” – which the bodyguards kept informing her she’d dropped. Björk has never been one to do the expected, and this was no exception.
Julia Roberts flaunted her pits! Although the female body hair on the red carpet mantle has been picked up and carried with exceptional grace by fellow actress Mo’nique at the 2010 Golden Globes, Julia Roberts’ act of hirsute protest in 1999 at the London premiere of Notting Hill set the bar. Accessorizing an Armani evening gown with some surprise fuzz, it was a refreshing rejection of the beauty standards that see women waxed, tanned, glossed and groomed for the red carpet.
Tilda Swinton caused something of a stir in 2008 when she showed up ‘make-up free’ to collect her award for Best Supporting Actress for film Michael Clayton. Eau Naturale Tilda refused to confirm to red carpet glam expectations and was a refreshing reminder that these events should be about celebrating talent, not policing women.