Designed by Barbra herself, this dramatic pleated copper gown and cape perfectly captured the bold glamour of the 1970s. Streisand wore the ensemble to the 49th Annual Academy Awards on March 28, 1977. This would turn out to be an incredibly special night, because she and Paul Williams won the Oscar for Best Original Song, Evergreen, making her the first woman in history to win an Academy Award for composing music. In her acceptance speech, she said, “In my wildest dreams, I never ever could ever imagine winning an Academy Award for writing a song. I’m very honored and excited. Thank you all very much.”
Barbra’s 1977 outfit was purposely quite different from the sheer Arnold Scaasi pantsuit that she wore when she won her Best Actress Oscar in 1969. In her memoir, My Name Is Barbra, she recalled hoping that if she were fortunate enough to win a second Oscar one day, she would dress in a look that was a bit more elegant and conservative. 1 When I first began researching this look years ago, I found sources incorrectly attributing it to Scaasi, but as Streisand says in her memoir, “Don’t believe what you read!” She later confirmed via email that this was one of her own creations. She explained to me in 2020, “I had stopped wearing Scaasi clothes in the early ’70s… living in California, I began to wear more relaxed, contemporary things… not couture clothes. When I was making A Star Is Born, where I designed my own clothes… this was one of the pieces.”
Barbra’s design perfectly reflected this change in direction and embodied the elegance she had imagined for her future Oscar win. It featured a removable accordion pleated cape with a high ruffled collar and delicate buttons, which brings to mind the regal, dramatic necklines from the Victorian and Edwardian eras. The matching tiered strapless gown has an empire waist, and both the cape and gown are finished with a softly ruffled lettuce hem. The versatility of the removable cape allowed Barbra to shift her look effortlessly, from youthful and edgy during the performance to a bit more refined when she took to the stage to accept her award.
For her performance of Evergreen, Streisand accessorized her gown with two carefully chosen necklaces, one tiered and beaded, and the other gold with amber stones. Dainty upper arm cuffs with brown beads helped to tie the look together, enhancing both the bohemian vibe and tiered texture of the ensemble. Her soft, copper, permed hair also complemented the outfit beautifully and helped complete the 1970s goddess vibe. Streisand’s perm became so iconic after the huge success of A Star Is Born that women everywhere were trying to emulate it. As she noted in her memoir, “My wonderful hairdresser Soonie Paik, gave me that perm, and she’s been with me ever since.” 2 True to her eye for detail, Streisand even ensured that her microphone matched the outfit perfectly.
It would be difficult to discuss this look without mentioning how strongly it was influenced by Streisand’s love of Fortuny designs. She famously wore a vintage burgundy Fortuny Delphos gown and jacket in the film Funny Girl and fell in love with the pieces, which remain part of her personal collection today. In her 2010 book, My Passion for Design, Streisand recalled, “I thought the Fortuny dress was gorgeous. Utterly simple—held together by a thin silk cord at the shoulders—and very complex with that infinitesimal pleating. No one has ever figured out how he did those tiny pleats. It’s like Tiffany glass in a way. You can’t quite duplicate it, although many people have tried.”
She went on to explain, “I had Irene (Sharaff) copy it in pink for my 1967 concert in Central Park. I asked her to make a pleated chiffon cape to wear over it that could billow in the wind. There were 150,000 people there that night and no video screens back then. At least with the cape, they could see me, even if they were way in the back.” 3
Read all about Streisand’s Central Park outfit here, and watch her 1977 Academy Award performance and win below.
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