Meet Meryl Streep's Not-So-American-Flag Dress
In her American-flag-print dress at Tuesday night’s Democratic National Convention, Meryl Streep looked like one of the most patriotic people in the room. But her outfit was hiding a secret.
Because despite its USA overtones, the Academy Award winner’s getup was actually created by Catherine Malandrino — a French designer.
Still, this wasn’t the first time Streep has worn her love or her country on her sleeve — and she isn’t the first celeb to do it in this dress, either. The actress wore the frock to the premiere of her film Doubt in 2009, though Halle Berry wore the sleeveless version while on promotion of Swordfish way back in 2001. Tatyana Ali wore the look in 2012, and in 2013, both Wendy Williams and Katy Perry wore identical American flag dresses.
(The dress originally appeared on Malandrino’s fall 2001 runway, and was re-released in 2008 in honor of Barack Obama’s election win.)
As Mo Hedaya, the marketing director of Malandrino’s backer Bluestar Alliance LLC, told Allure, “We were ecstatic to see Meryl wearing the flag dress at the DNC. It was the definitely the ultimate arena for this piece, and who better [to wear it] than such an iconic and acclaimed actress.”
But as popular as the patriotic Malandrino dress has proven to be, it’s also not nearly the only example of an American flag-themed dress designed by a decidedly un-American label. Fellow French houses Givenchy and Chanel have both put forth Betsy Ross-inspired motifs; Canadian duo DSquared2 has gotten down with the red, white, and blue on more than one occasion; and Balmain once sold (or at least attempted to sell) flag-inspired tank tops for $1,515 a pop.
As for Streep’s Malandrino looker, it’s currently no longer available for purchase. But, according to Hedaya, the company will consider “creating something similar or reissuing it again” if the demand is there.
Something tells us it will be.
A photo posted by taste of streep (@tasteofstreep) on Jul 26, 2016 at 8:26pm PDT
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.
