Céline Dion's 1999 Oscars Look Topped Worst-Dressed Lists But Fans Say It's Iconic Today

Looking back through the complete transformation of Céline Dion, there are both haute couture highs and a few worst-dressed lows scattered through the years. If nothing else, the Canadian singer's style is envelope-pushing and at times controversial. One of her most divisive outfits was her 1999 Oscars look. For the event, she wore a Dior by John Galliano suit backwards. The white satin jacket was worn over nothing, exposing the bare skin of Dion's back. She also added a coordinating fedora and black bedazzled sunglasses.

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Back in '99, many media outlets added it to their worst-dressed looks from the event, but looking back at the 'fit in hindsight, fans seem to have changed their tune. "Just another iconic moment by an icon," one wrote. Another Instagrammer theorized that Dion was "ahead of her time" in this ensemble. And that may be the key to why it didn't work back in '99. Reviewing pics from the event, there were very few risky looks, but it was incredibly tame for the most part, embodying the minimalistic threads of '90s fashion. Today, Dion's white 'fit feels avant-garde and elegant at the same time. As one fan put it on Instagram, "It looks amazing. [I] don't get all the negativity it attracted back then."

In 2007, Céline Dion defended her controversial suit from eight years prior, telling W magazine, "The only thing I have to say about that is, if I had to do it again, I would do the exact same thing." She added, "I'm very comfortable in my body, suit forward or backward. At the Oscars this year, I wanted to play a trick and wear the same suit forward. I did not." And this confident approach to dressing has stayed with the "My Heart Will Go On" singer for most of her career.

Fast-forward 20 years from the '99 Oscars, and Dion had become living proof that the saying "dress your age" deserves banishment from fashion discourse. During Paris Fashion Week in 2019, the 51-year-old showed a creative way to style a bodysuit for a fresh, versatile look when she stepped out in a Chanel unitard. As with many of her looks, there were some who liked it and some who were unsure about wearing a tight-fitting jumpsuit with a maximalist logo chain belt.

On an Instagram post of the look, those in favor of the 'fit appeared to outweigh the negative comments, with one person writing, "I mean, the woman is just fashion." However, the criticism was definitely there, including from one Instagram user who simply said, "So bad." Check back in another 20 years to see if this is one of the "Because You Loved Me" hitmaker's fashion-forward looks that ages well with fans.