Gucci designed Charlize Theron’s black backless gown for the 2004 Academy Awards.
Theron wore the sleek black dress at the ceremony where she won Best Actress for Monster. The gown had a close-fitting silhouette, a low back and delicate detailing that balanced glamour with a relatively restrained color palette.
The look came from Gucci, the Italian luxury fashion house founded in Florence in 1921. At the time, Gucci was widely associated with polished eveningwear as well as its better-known leather goods and accessories.
Theron’s Oscar appearance is sometimes conflated with the pale-gold Gucci gown she wore at another awards event. The 2004 Academy Awards dress was black, and its designer was Gucci. Her win for Monster was the first Academy Award of her career.