Natalie Portman's Oscars Cape Is Embroidered With Female Directors

(Image credit: Getty Images, Amy Sussman)

published 10 February 2020

If you thought Natalie Portman's Grecian-style black-and-gold gown and matching Dior Haute Couture cape made a statement, wait until you zoom in. The actress explained on the red carpet that she'd had the names of female directors shut out from this year's Best Director category embroidered into the cape's lining, telling reporter Amy Kaufman: "I wanted to recognize the women who were not recognized for their incredible work this year, in my subtle way."

The last names embroidered onto the cape include that of: Lorene Scafaria, of Hustlers; Lulu Wang, of The Farewell; Greta Gerwig, of Little Women; Marielle Heller, of A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood; Mati Diop, of Atlantics; Melina Matsoukas, of Queen & Slim; Alma Har’el, of Honey Boy; and Céline Sciamma, of Portrait of a Lady on Fire.

Here's Portman's look:

And here's a video of her explaining her decision to Kaufman:

Natalie Portman embroidered her Dior cape with all of the female directors who weren't nominated for #Oscars. Check out her explanation here. pic.twitter.com/kyyo2wVMZfFebruary 10, 2020

Certainly one of the best looks to grace this year's red carpet, in our opinion.

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Jenny is the Digital Director at Marie Claire. A graduate of Leeds University, and a native of London, she moved to New York in 2012 to attend the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. She was the first intern at Bustle when it launched in 2013, and spent five years building out its news and politics department. In 2018 she joined Marie Claire, where she held the roles of Deputy Digital Editor and Director of Content Strategy before becoming Digital Director. Working closely with Marie Claire's exceptional editorial, audience, commercial, and e-commerce teams, Jenny oversees the brand's digital arm, with an emphasis on driving readership. When she isn't editing or knee-deep in Google Analytics, you can find Jenny writing about television, celebrities, her lifelong hate of umbrellas, or (most likely) her dog, Captain. In her spare time, she also writes fiction: her first novel, the thriller EVERYONE WHO CAN FORGIVE ME IS DEAD, was published with Minotaur Books (UK) and Little, Brown (US) in February 2024 and became a USA Today bestseller. She has also written extensively about developmental coordination disorder, or dyspraxia , which she was diagnosed with when she was nine. She is currently working on her second novel.