In honour of the 20th anniversary of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, the creators and stars of the movie have reflected on the film’s iconic yellow dress fashion moment, and the hardest part of filming the scene.
In the 2003 film, journalist Andie Anderson, played by Kate Hudson, tries to scare off marketing executive Benjamin Barry, played by Matthew McConaughey, in just 10 days through a series of dating red flags. But, unbeknownst to her, Barry is simultaneously trying to get her to fall in love with him for a diamond marketing campaign.
The rom-com leads ultimately uncover one another’s true intentions during a gala for the fictional diamond brand DeLauer, during which Hudson’s character wears a now-famous yellow Carolina Herrera silk gown.
The fashion moment was made even more special with the addition of a yellow diamond necklace, which happened to belong to Harry Winston, rather than the fictional DeLauer.
The cast of the film, and its producers, reflected on the “Frost Yourself” gala scene withVanity Fair, where they revealed that one of the most difficult parts about filming the scenes was having to navigate the security that came with the Harry Winston diamond necklace.
“Taking care of that diamond was a real pain for production because we needed security people and an armoured car and all of this stuff all the time,” producer Lynda Obst recalled.
Donald Petrie, the director of the film, also revealed that the security guards you see in the film actually belonged to the luxury jewellery brand.
“The security guards that you see on camera are real security guards [from] Harry Winston. We had to hire these guys,” he explained. “If I said: ‘Okay, cut,’ all the cast had to line up and turn in the jewels. They couldn’t go to the bathroom with the jewels on. If you had to leave the set for any reason, you had to turn in your jewellery.”
As for the necklace in question, Insider reported that the 80-carat yellow diamond “Isadora” necklace worn by Hudson, which was named for dancer Isadora Duncan, sold for $5m after it starred in the film.
The extravagant necklace wasn’t the only expensive jewel to appear in the film, as it was previously reported that $14m worth of jewellery was loaned to the set for the infamous “Frost Yourself” diamond gala.
According to Hudson, the colour of the 80-carat diamond inspired the dress she wore in the scene, as she told Vanity Fair that Karen Patch, the film’s costume designer, “liked that colour of the Isadora - the yellow diamond”.
“So the colour was very specific,” she explained, adding that Patch worked with the Herrera team to “create something that she felt was timeless, classic and clean”.
Hudson said she remembers distinctly all of the fittings she had for the dress, which involved “making sure that the lines of the dress were clean and sharp” and that Patch was happy with the back of the gown.
As for how she felt about the outfit choice, Hudson said she “loves” the dress worn by her character.
“I love that dress. I think the colour just was one of those statement colours and was great on camera,” she said.
McConaughey also praised the gown, with the actor telling Vanity Fair that Hudson was a “knockout” in the dress, while Obst said the dress is in the “Costume Designer Hall of Fame” for its ability to remain in trend 20 years later.
“It’s a style that’s being used still right now, which is that kind of a camisole top, so it’s oddly not out of date for a movie from then, fashion-wise,” she explained.
The cast and crew also praised the iconic full turn Hudson’s character performed on the stairs to show off the gown ahead of the gala, which Petrie said was his idea.
“And obviously, it wasn’t hard for Matthew to [be in awe of] that stunning dress. I certainly know that we could have sold a lot of them,” he added.
This is not the first time that Hudson has praised the dress and its enduring popularity, as she previously expressed her happiness that fans have recently recreated the dress on TikTok. “I love it,” she told Byrdie.
