At the Academy Awards, power dressing is a bold move thanks to Adam Rippon and others

Adam Rippon arrives at the Oscars on Sunday at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

By Khanh T.L. Tran

March 4, 2018 5:35 PM PT

Although some men might think veering into velvet is a big step forward in formal dressing, a few Oscars attendees made a bold interpretation of power dressing for the red carpet.

Fresh from winning a bronze medal at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, figure skater Adam Rippon fearlessly showed the trends for cutouts and bondage in his black Moschino suit designed by Jeremy Scott.

Besides excising the shoulders from the tuxedo jacket, Scott accessorized the Olympian with a patent leather bow tie, a leather studded chest harness and a satin cummerbund. Compared with the weather in South Korea, Hollywood was balmy at 62 degrees on Sunday. So Rippon removed his socks under his ensemble that Scott described as “a nod to old Hollywood with a twist.”

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Chadwick Boseman at Academy Awards on Sunday.

In Scott’s eyes, Rippon’s the ideal man to dress for the 90th Academy Awards. “Adam has a great physique to dress and his personality is so vibrant,” Scott said. “Not only is Adam an amazing athlete, he is an inspiration to me for his unfailing determination to speak his truth and combat bigotry and hate with love and intelligence.”

Rippon wasn’t the only one slipping on a power suit.

In Givenchy Haute Couture, “Black Panther” star Chadwick Boseman walked proudly into the Dolby Theatre, wearing a dark formal coat elaborately embroidered by hand in silver in the front and back.

According to his stylist, Ashley Weston, it took 10 people, working hundreds of hours, to stitch the beads by hand for the custom creation. “I wanted something regal for him but that wasn’t loud,” Weston said.

Dubbing the design as “small details with maximum impact,” he praised Givenchy’s creative director, Clare Waight Keller, for doing “a spectacular job creating this piece of art for us.”

Diane Warren, nominated for her song “Stand Up for Something” from “Marshall,” wore a Saint Laurent tuxedo adorned with crystal strips on the extreme shoulders. She’s been nominated nine times for an Oscar but has yet to win. As she told E! before the show, “I'll fly away if I don’t.”