Red Carpet Report: Weekly Round-Up--Blake Lively, Eva Longoria, Alicia Keys, Gwyneth Paltrow

Belles of the Red Carpet...

Blake Lively: "Gossip Girl" star and this season's "Lagerfeld It Girl", Blake Lively, wearing Chanel Haute Couture Spring 2009 to the Green Lantern Premiere in Hollywood. This gown--if ordered--would probably set you back about $50,000. Yep, that's right--I think the "Movie Premiere What To Wear" ante has been raised when actresses such as Lively show up in Haute Couture kids!!!

She stars in the print ad for the new Chanel Mademoiselle handbag, shot by Karl Lagerfeld of course. I assume it's probably in her contract to wear Chanel and nothing but Chanel at her red carpet appearances and/or events--or at least some of them. Lots of actresses and/or Design Houses carve that out as part of their contract. We'll see how much Chanel Miss Lively can wear in the next coming months...hopefully it will all be Haute Couture!!!

Eva Longoria: Eva Longoria showed up in a mint-green lace over satin one-shoulder corset dress from Monique Lhuillier to the Mexican American Legal Defense And Education Fund Awards. She looks pretty and 50's elegant. Love those stacked silver metallic pumps! Somehow--as high and as prominent as they are--they still don't take away from the entire look. Notice how the runway sample on the right hits the model above the knee. On Miss Eva, it covers it.

Alicia Keys: At first look, I had to do a double-take! I didn't even realize it was Alicia Keys. I thought it was model Petra Nemcova originally (what do I know?? I was really off!!). But indeed, here is Alicia Keys wearing Custom Givenchy Haute Couture by Ricardo Tisci to the Keep A Child Alive Black Ball. So, let me get this right: It's Haute Couture--which means one-of-a-kind and hand-made and VERY VERY EXPENSIVE!--and it is also Custom? Is that redundant? Or just really really REALLY expensive!?

Gwyneth Paltrow: Actress, Country-singer/"Glee" Phenom and Spanish-language-fluent Gwyneth Paltrow is NOT wearing Haute Couture here (well, at least we got one girl!!). In fact, she's wearing a poly jersey "Grecian" draped cocktail dress from NYC fashion wunderkind Alexander Wang to the 3rd Annual Bent On Learning Benefit. Well done Miss Paltrow. You know how much I also love them Grecian draped dresses so you ain't gonna hear anything negative here...

Nick Verreos on New "Style Star" Episode on Style Network: Victoria Beckham & Eva Longoria!

Eva and Victoria: Style DIVAS!!!

Eva Longoria in strapless red Mermaid-shaped gown from Reem Acra, Golden Globes 2009

Victoria Beckham in a black jersey fishtail gown of her own design

Last night, another episode of Style Network's "Style Star" premiered. This time it was about the "Glam Girlfriends" and Divas of the Red Carpet: Eva Longoria and Victoria Beckham.

Nick Verreos on Style Network's "Style Star" series

As you may already know, I am one of the Style Experts of the show (along with Marcellas Reynolds, Elle's Joe Zee, among others) giving our "Fashionista Two Cents" on the style evolution--and red carpet fashion choices--of various A-List Ladies. In past episodes, we've discussed Drew Barrymore (Love her!), Charlize Theron (Wow! What a figure!), and California Girl Epitomized Cameron Diaz.

Eva Longoria, SAG Awards 2008

But now, it's all about Eva and Victoria. I just ADORE both of their styles: they are strong, powerful, no-holds barred style Goddesses. Eva, with her petite fiery Latina looks, she shows you can be sexy and elegant at the same time. And then there's Miss Victoria: Seriously anyone who gets out of an 11-hour LA to London flight looking like this:

Is DEFINITELY going to join me in Elton John-Cher Gay Heaven!!! DIVA with a Capital "D"! This is how I wanna look every time I get off a plane! Go Miss Victoria...

The "Eva-Victoria" Style Star Episode premiered last night on The Style Network...

But you can still catch it at these dates/times TONIGHT and all next week:

Sunday Feb 6 10:30PM
Monday Feb 7 1:30AM
Tuesday Feb 8 9AM
Saturday Feb 12 8:30AM

Eva Longoria's Wedding Dress--My vision

Early this month, as everyone knows, actress Eva Longoria got married to sexy San Antonio Spurs basketball player, Tony Parker. A writer for the San Antonio Express News, Michael Quintanilla, contacted me to draw a sketch of what I, Nick Verreos, would design for Eva , if I was the designer doing her wedding gown. He was doing a story regarding all the craziness revolving her fabulous and ultra chic million-dollar wedding in France. Quintanilla wanted to include design visions from local San Antonio fashion designers , as well as a "celebrity designer" (I'm sure he was using the term very loosely!). Several years ago, Eva wore one of my NIKOLAKI designs to an event (in a photo captured here), way before she became the star of "Desperate Housewives".

I obliged his request with this illustration you see here. I wanted to do my "Nick" silhouette--very 1930's bias cut Hollywood Starlet with an asymmetrical cowl draped back (similar to what I designed for her costar, Brenda Strong for last year's SAG Awards. I envisioned it in a off-white silk crepe that would be hand-beaded--heavy to light-- throughout the gown. The finishing touch would be a French lace veil very reminiscent of the Mantillas the Spanish Duquesas wear, to give a nod to her Mexican-Spanish heritage. The sketch was published-along with the other San Antonio designer's visions in the aforementioned San Antonio Express newspaper the same weekend of Eva's wedding. She ended up wearing an amazing silk gazar gown from Venezuelan designer Angel Sanchez, who for years deigned all the gowns for the Miss Venezuela's and now has become a go-to guy for gorgeous wedding dresses. Good choice Miss Eva!