Demi Moore has been a Hollywood icon for four decades, and recently, she’s been receiving the most acclaim of her career for her wildly daring performance in the artsy horror film The Substance.
At 62, Moore brings years of experience dealing with Hollywood sexism and the complications of aging in the public eye to her role. In January, she won the Golden Globe for Best Actress—Motion Picture Comedy or Musical and gave a powerful acceptance speech in which she said, “I’m just in shock right now. I’ve been doing this a long time—like, over 45 years—and this is the first time I’ve ever won anything as an actor,” and spoke candidly of her fight to be seen as more than just a “popcorn actress” and the self-esteem issues she faced for many years—all challenges which informed her performance as an actress who takes a sketchy drug that promises to cure all her age-related woes—with surreal and terrifying results.
While Moore’s Golden Globe for The Substance marked her first-ever award win, she’s no stranger to red carpets, as she first attended the Oscars back in 1989—and her quirky outfit landed her on the worst-dressed list. In honor of the star’s Oscar nomination for The Substance (her debut nomination at Hollywood’s biggest night, and one she’s a frontrunner for), we’re taking a look back at her infamous 1989 look—which was actually way better than her critics made it out to be!
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Demi Moore’s 1989 Oscars look: Why it was controversial
Demi Moore attended the 1989 Academy Awards to present the Oscar for Best Cinematography alongside her then-husband, Bruce Willis. Rather than wearing an evening gown for the occasion, Moore showed up in a decidedly untraditional ensemble featuring a corset top, lace-trimmed bike shorts, and a cape-like half-skirt done up in black-and-gold brocade.
Bike shorts may have been popular casualwear in the late ’80s, but wearing them on the red carpet was unheard of, and the combination of spandex with a regal silhouette and sumptuous fabrics sent critics and fans alike into a tizzy, with the look widely regarded as a low point in Oscar fashion. The worst-dressed lists had a field day, and Women’s Wear Daily splashed an image of Moore on the cover with the headline “OSCAR FRIGHT.”
Why we think Demi Moore’s 1989 look deserves a second chance
Decades after Moore wore her fancy bike shorts, we can’t help but feel that everyone was way too harsh about the fashion risk she took. Even if you don’t like her ’80s-aerobics-meets-Elizabethan vibe, you have to admit it’s pretty unique, and it serves as a reminder of the days before awards fashion was dictated by celebrity stylists and brand deals.
Not only was Moore’s look put together without a stylist, the actress actually designed it herself. Women’s Wear Daily quipped, “Thank God, no designer is to blame,” while Time claimed, “It has been said that stars no longer style themselves because of what happened when Moore tried it,” but the fact that she took a hands-on approach to fashion only makes the outfit more fun, and we’d like to see more celebrities take creative control of their Oscar looks.
Moore stepped out at the Oscars just seven months after giving birth to Rumer Willis, the first of her three daughters, and it’s clear that she was ready to show off her fabulous figure and have some fun, all while balancing fanciness and comfort.
In a 2022 interview, Moore shared her fashion philosophy, saying, “I do appreciate fashion, and I have a relationship with designers who I respect and admire. But I still feel like a little kid who gets to dress up and who I am at heart is a grubby 12-year-old boy who really likes to just be comfortable and wear baggy clothes.” She also said that when she’s at her home in Idaho, “It’s generally overalls all day, every day. That’s as much me as wearing a super-gorgeous red carpet gown or a chic designer outfit front row at fashion week.”
Moore’s 1989 Oscar look isn’t quite something a “grubby 12-year-old boy” would wear, but it certainly seems like an authentic representation of her style, and on top of that, both bike shorts and corsets have made comebacks in recent years. Now that Moore’s range as an actress is finally being recognized, it’s time to acknowledge that she’s also a fashion trailblazer.
