“Lots of jewels and lots of skin!” Ciara said of the Fall 2010 Givenchy Couture gown she was gearing up to don for Sunday night’s MTV Video Music Awards. The flesh-toned frock was entirely sheer, save for a skeletal crystal and Chantilly lace overlay and a cascade of ostrich feathers from the knee down. It seemed apropos somehow, given that the singer had been nominated for a sixth VMA for the video for her track “Body Party.”
“I picked this dress out years ago when it was first made. It’s my favorite dress of all time,” said the singer—and longtime Givenchy fan—while getting ready in suite at Manhattan’s Lowell Hotel. “I was very fortunate that my good friend Riccardo Tisci was able to let me wear it. He’s just such a genius.”
Marni Senofonte, Ciara’s stylist who was on hand to help with the prep, shared the star’s sentiments. “We all cried the first time she tried it on. She started tearing up, I started tearing up. I’ve never gotten emotional about a dress before, not even my sister’s wedding dress,” she recalled.
As for Ciara’s pre-red-carpet practices, she told us they include hearty helpings of protein (shrimp cocktail and scallops, mainly), and current events. “I’ve been listening to CNN lately when I’m getting ready—I don’t know what that’s about,” she laughed while wrapped in her bathrobe.
Makeup artist Yolonda Frederick kept things to a muted shade of sex kitten, opting for a satin complexion, neutral eyes, and a peachy-nude pout (courtesy of MAC Honeylove lipstick). As far as hair was concerned, “[the dress] speaks for itself,” said stylist Cesar Ramirez (above). “This is the world that we live in now, really simple, not overdone cool. It’s textured, but almost ‘undone-done hair.’”
The only other thing that remained “undone”? A car ride to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, though the artist seemed to have that covered, too. “I’m going to be bumping some hip-hop!”
