There’s no greater fashion flex than referencing yourself. Just ask Halle Berry, who made a surprise cameo on the Elie Saab runway last night while wearing her iconic sheer dress from the 2002 Oscars.
Berry slipped into the same mesh and satin gown that she wore when she became the first (and so far, only) Black woman to ever win the Best Actress Oscar for her role in Monster’s Ball. The Elie Saab design still fit Berry like a glove, from its sheer, embroidered bodice to the perfectly draped skirt. Berry, now 58, wore her hair in an elegant updo during the show which celebrated the Lebanese designer’s 45th anniversary of the brand. Celine Dion, Jennifer Lopez, and Camila Cabello were also in attendance and treated guests to special performances during the show which was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
“There are some moments in life that just happen and they change our lives forever!” Berry wrote on Instagram following her cameo. “Winning an Academy Award in my Elie Saab gown was one of those moments for me! Thank you Mr. Saab for being a part of the tapestry of my life as we have been inextricably connected for 22 years now! It was my honor to celebrate you and your 1001 seasons. Here’s wishing you many more glorious years of joy, creativity and glamour!”
Last year, Berry announced that the gown would be put on display at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles. Clearly, it was pulled from the archives to make an appearance in the Middle East.
“She made the name Elie Saab more popular,” Saab said of Berry in a 2019 interview, adding that “She managed to really put the name Elie Saab on the international market.”
Berry’s Oscars gown was not only a watershed moment for Saab’s label, but for actors of color, too. Berry remained the only woman of color to ever win a Best Actress statuette for exactly two decades until Michelle Yeoh’s 2022 triumph for Everything Everywhere All at Once. At the time of Berry’s win, only two other Black actresses—Hattie McDaniel and Whoopi Goldberg—had ever won acting Oscars. Both McDaniel and Goldberg were awarded in the Best Supporting Actress category, however.
In a September 2024 interview, Berry reminisced on her Oscar win and expressed frustration over the lack of representation in the Best Actress field. “I’m still eternally miffed that no Black woman has come behind me for that best actress Oscar, I’m continually saddened by that year after year,” she said, noting, “And it’s certainly not because there has been nobody deserving.”