Lisa Rinna’s bold Oscars party look was made out of a bizarre fabric choice: 11 pounds of real hair extensions.
The 62-year-old reality star attended Elton John’s 2026 Oscars party Sunday in a custom-made Christian Cowan gown. To the naked eye, it looked like a strapless black gown with cut-out detailing, but it was actually made entirely out of hair extensions that were multiple yards long. The black locks cascaded down the dress to create a hairy train.
Designer Cowan told Page Six Style that he “wanted to bring hair further into the world of fashion...Instead of hair simply finishing the look, it becomes the look.”
Cowan also said that he worked with the haircare brand Tresemmé on the design, with the help of 16 people who spent 152 hours constructing the garment.
Rinna accessorized the strange all-hair look with a silver statement choker necklace and diamond earrings, while she sported her classic short and spiky hairdo.
This isn’t the first time that locks of hair have been an essential part of a red carpet look. While attending the red carpet premiere of her film Wuthering Heights in London last month, Margot Robbie wore a custom Dilara Findikoglu sheer dress adorned with braids of real blonde hair, in a nod to a hair design motif used throughout the movie.
The braids acted as seams for the dress, with flowers adorned throughout the design.
Robbie told Who What Wear that the idea of the dress stemmed from a bracelet worn by Charlotte Brontë, the sister of the Wuthering Heights author Emily.
“It's inspired by this bracelet. This is a replica of Charlotte Brontë's bracelet, which was, they suspect, woven out of Anne and Emily's hair,” Robbie said, pointing at her left wrist.
“It was a Victorian thing to make jewelry out of the hair of loved ones,” she said.
Similar to Rinna and Robbie, many celebrities have embraced looks that may be deemed too wacky for the red carpet. Back in 2010, Lady Gaga wore a dress entirely made out of meat when she won the Video of the Year trophy for her song “Bad Romance” at the MTV Video Music Awards.
The dress, created by designer Franc Fernandez, featured a cowl neckline, a slashed-to-thigh hem and a matching beef clutch bag. Gaga also wore a fillet as a fascinator.
The “meat dress”, which quickly became an overnight sensation and made red carpet history, was comprised of 50 pounds of rib and steak purchased from Fernandez’s butcher. Replicas were made and sold for up to $100,000, while the original dress was preserved and put on exhibition.
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