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American Morning
Fashion at the Grammy Awards
Aired February 28, 2002 - 08:49 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: You know it's not whether you win or lose, really, but how you look doing it. So which stars made a statement last night? For that we turn to an expert, Leon Hall, who works the fashion police beat for the E! Network. He joins us now from Los Angeles.
Good to see you again. Hey, personal question here.
LEON HALL, E! NETWORK: Hey, Paula, how you doing?
ZAHN: I'm good, thanks. Did you get any shuteye last night or you came straight from the party (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
HALL: Yes, I was smart, I knew I had to look -- no, I knew I had to look good for you.
ZAHN: You're looking fine as far as I'm concerned.
HALL: Thank you.
ZAHN: Let's start off with your personal favorite of the evening. Who...
HALL: My personal favorite...
ZAHN: ... won the Leon Hall best dressed award last night?
HALL: No one knows how to be a diva better than a diva, and Patti LaBelle was absolutely the star of the whole show. I mean she came in looking like a star wearing millions of dollars worth of diamonds. She's not the youngest, she's not the thinnest, but you know what, she's the biggest and best diva in the world.
ZAHN: Yeah, she really looked good.
Now there...
HALL: She knows what she's doing.
ZAHN: There is a performer who you have not been too kind to in the past as far as a sartorial elegance and that is Britney Spears. I mean would it be fair to say you've trashed her in the past?
HALL: Just -- yes, and don't even -- didn't even want to because I think she's a beautiful young girl. I think this is the most beautiful she's ever looked. I think it's the sexiest she's ever looked, and she's showing the least amount of anatomy that I've ever seen. And I think she looked wonderful.
ZAHN: Yes, she was very understated.
HALL: Yes.
ZAHN: I wonder if this is a new strategy?
HALL: Well you know she wants to be an actress, not just a singer, so maybe this is strategy.
ZAHN: Yes, it worked for most of us.
Another favorite, Nelly Furtado.
HALL: You know because she is a beautiful young girl and she dressed like a beautiful young girl, and I think that as an image for young people who they're their icons, but this is a terrific way to look. It was sexy and it was gentle, and it was -- it was perfect for her. I mean the fit was right and the fit is so important.
ZAHN: And she looked great from the back. We can't see it from this picture, but she had these, you know, the wonderful little corset look in the back.
Let's move on to some of the fashion don'ts. At one point, the Dixie Chicks came out with Sheryl Crow, what did you see when they took the big stage?
HALL: Oh, I saw these women making -- did they all go to the same garage sale? I think it's very interesting that...
ZAHN: Ouch!
HALL: It's like four don'ts. Don't wear muumuus even in Hawaii. And Sheryl Crow, you're too old to be wearing those hot pants because they're not hot on you they're tepid.
ZAHN: Oh come on.
HALL: And these girls got -- they've got so much money.
ZAHN: Well (UNINTELLIGIBLE) not crazy about the hot pants,...
HALL: Thank you.
ZAHN: ... but are you implying she wasn't in very good shape there?
HALL: No, she's beautiful. The thing is what these -- all four women are beautiful, but why did they look like they bought things on sale at a garage? I just don't understand it at all.
ZAHN: All right, let's move on to Alicia Keys. She won a bunch of Grammys last night. And I noticed she appeared to have changed her clothes after she retrieved some of those awards. How do you think she looked?
HALL: I really -- I think she's probably the most beautiful and the most talented woman out there right now. And I just hated this garment that she was wearing. I didn't -- I didn't know what it was. It sort of looked like a bad home economics project. It just didn't -- it just didn't flatter her at all. But she's so beautiful, she could almost rise above it.
ZAHN: She had very unusual makeup on last night, a lot of silver glitter on her eyelids.
HALL: Lots of silver glitter. She may wish she hadn't done all that glitter at another time when you see all the photographs of her because it's going to wear thin.
ZAHN: I thought it looked like she was trying to do sort of the sorry (ph) look there.
HALL: Yes, but over pants and with the -- your undershirt showing, that's probably what destroyed it.
ZAHN: All right, let's move on to Christina Aguilera, how do you think she looked?
HALL: Oh, well I will tell you, this is a wonderful antique dress from a French designer named Madam Gray (ph). I think Madam Gray planned for this dress to be on someone with probably three cup sizes smaller. And Christina has pierced her face too many times. Girl, cut out the karats. We don't need little piercings everywhere on your face because this is a beautiful young girl as well.
ZAHN: How about Celine Dion? We had not seen her in a while...
HALL: I know and I...
ZAHN: ... since she's been in semi-hiding.
HALL: Paula, I wish I hadn't seen her in this Dior dress. It's probably a $35,000 dress. I just don't understand what the hell he was thinking because I mean it's picked up and it's roushed (ph) and it's belted, and it's like, I kind of feel like she brought this on the plane and it got caught in the conveyer belt. But I know that this is Dior catour (ph) but sometimes that makes it even worse when you're looking at a dress that cost that much money.
ZAHN: But I mean her figure looked fabulous in it, didn't it?
HALL: Yes, she's a size 2, and her -- and she's got great extensions in her hair and she looks wonderful. And she's ready to perform again because they're offering her all that much money in Vegas. I'd do the same thing. In fact, I'd wear that dress if I...
ZAHN: Hey, I...
HALL: ... -- they were offering me that much money in Vegas.
ZAHN: I think Stevie Wonder stole the show in this shot. He looked great.
HALL: Stevie Wonder -- he always does.
ZAHN: All right, back to the women now, Bootsy Collins, let's talk about her for a moment.
HALL: Oh no, that's -- believe it or not, that's a him.
ZAHN: Oh what am I talking about, that is Bootsy Collins, a guy.
HALL: Well you know, Bootsy is -- has no gender. This is kind of like road kill fashion. I feel like this man sort of ran over these things. And you know, he's lost in the '70s and he's still in the '70s. In fact, I hope he bought this in the '70s.
ZAHN: Was there a live animal that was in that coat? You can't make it out from this picture.
HALL: No, it's all about leopard and fake leather, and there's an animal face on the shirt. And then he's famous, of course, for those strange sort of sunglasses that he never takes off. It gives new meaning to the word road kill.
ZAHN: How about Outkast?
HALL: Do you know they said they were in the clothing business. I hope that they're not wearing their own clothes, because I have tell you, I don't want to see a store full of these kind of clothes. It would have been sort of fun, but it's the hats that take it totally over the top. I mean I really don't understand white fur fake hats unless you're a majorette.
ZAHN: Well I thank you for educating me about the gender differentiation (ph) with Bootsy Collins there. You were great to drop by. I know you had a late night last night. Will this give us any ideas how the women might dress at the Oscars? You're probably going to say I hope not!
HALL: Well I -- well no, this never gives any indication about fashion at all because it's not about fashion, it's about people being as outrageous as possible and showing as much skin as possible. And I think at the Oscars we'll see a little less skin than this.
ZAHN: All right, Leon Hall, good to see you again. Thanks for dropping by.
HALL: Thanks, Paula.
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