Kerry Washington’s stylist Law Roach looked through the Marc Bouwer archives to locate an outfit for her to wear to the American Black Film Festival Awards on Sunday night. The red ruched halter-neck gown he ultimately decided on for the actor also has a backstory: Whitney Houston performed in that exact crimson dress at the BET Walk of Fame Awards gala in 1996, when it was first worn.
Washington paid tribute to the late singer on Instagram before entering the red carpet by posting a video of herself dancing and lip-syncing to Houston’s iconic song “I Have Nothing.”
Meanwhile, Roach thanked Bouwer on Instagram for letting him borrow the piece of fashion history. “And then THIS happened…Thank you @marcbouwer for letting me go into your archives and borrow Whitney’s dress for @kerrywashington,” Roach wrote.
It’s the latest in Roach’s recent string of archive looks. He perfectly timed Zendaya’s long-awaited return to the spotlight last month by dressing her in a spring 2002 Versace couture gown and custom Prada separates that were modeled by a piece from the spring/summer 1993 collection that she wore to the NAACP Image Awards. He returned to the Prada archives a few days later and discovered a spring/summer 1997 gown that inspired a special outfit for another client, Hunter Schafer, to wear to the Costume Designers Guild Awards.
