Philly’s Da’Vine Joy Randolph won the Oscar — and won the red carpet with her command of plus-sized fashion and movie star glamour

Da’Vine Joy Randolph won her first Oscar Sunday night in a sweet blue, custom Louis Vuitton sheath with dainty spaghetti halter straps. Her broad shoulders cloaked in colossal feathered sleeves.

Diamond 18.5-carat earrings from the 180-year-old House of Moussaieff, one of the most discreet, high-end jewelers in the world, dangled like tassels from the Mount Airy native’s ears.

Glittering. Proud. Confident. Randolph, whose platinum blond flip was as much of a homage to Old Hollywood as Mary J. Blige, defined glamour. She looked as good as — or better than — every other actor on the red carpet. Her presence leveled the playing field in the judgmental world of red carpet plus-size fashion.

A Philly girl did that.

The fashion press is singing her praises.

“Randolph clearly has her red carpet game down pat, turning up in an elegant periwinkle gown by Louis Vuitton that positively glittered with sequins,” Town & Country raved. “The star doubled down on textures with off-the-shoulder feathered wrap-style sleeves, evoking a classic boa …”

“Wearing a gorgeous, powder-blue sequin gown and feathered boa courtesy of Louis Vuitton, Randolph began her emotional speech by thanking her mother, who encouraged her to pursue acting,” Harper’s Bazaar fawned.

“Randolph opted for a stunning icy custom Louis Vuitton gown that had Oscar winner written all over it,” noted InStyle.

Philly-based fashion bloggers Tom+Lorenzo have been tracking Randolph’s looks for months, as she attended multiple events and award ceremonies in the run-up to the Oscars. Her dress, they said, was a continuation of the strong work they’d seen over the past months.

“Navigating these waters is a lot more difficult for her than it is for someone like Emily Blunt,” they wrote ahead of the ceremony. “She and her team have done an admirable job of keeping her looking like a prestige actress and a diva throughout the season.”

Sunday evening, Randolph wore a seriously cinched at the waist style black and gold strapless gown by Albanian designer Valdrin Sahiti. Deadline added the slinky look to its Best Dressed List.

Fashion brands who had an inkling of impact on Randolph’s Oscar look reached out seeking credit, eager to bask in her statuesque golden glory. Randolph is a role model to young woman and these beauty companies want to make sure the women — especially Black and brown ones — who want to recreate her style look to them. “Lancôme Global makeup artist Sheika Daley worked with Da’Vine Joy Randolph — Academy Award winner for best supporting actress — to create this gorgeous look,” Lancôme wrote in a press release.

The road to Black actresses’ full acceptance on the red carpet has been a long one. When Hattie McDaniel became the first Black woman to receive an Oscar at the 12th Academy Awards in 1946, America was in the throes of Jim Crow and film executives called in favors for her to be allowed in the segregated Cocoanut Grove nightclub. McDaniel’s win was a feat, but her role as the plantation’s head slave, Mammy, in Gone With the Wind, didn’t celebrate her character’s agency, like Randolph’s role did in The Holdovers. From the moment the bereaved Mary Lamb poured a teacup full of whiskey for Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti), we understand that she’s as acerbic as she is empathetic. Randolph’s performance allowed for a depth, still not common for Black women in Hollywood, especially plus-size women.

“When we meet Mary in the cafeteria in The Holdovers we can feel [her grief] simmering under the surface,” said Lupita Nyong’o as she introduced Randolph as a best actress nominee, (Nyong’o also wore a light blue gown, but it was Armani.) “Your performance is a tribute to those who helped others heal their pain in spite of their own. It’s also a tribute to your grandmother, whose glasses you wore in the film. What an honor to see the world through her eyes and yours …”

In the decades since McDaniel’s historic win, only 11 Black women — including Halle Berry, who won the Best Actress Oscar in 2002 — have Academy Awards. Curvy Black actresses Mo’Nique and Octavia Spencer— who both won best supporting actresses in their respective roles in Precious (2009) and The Help (2011) — barely received red carpet mentions. A then-recently slimmed down Jennifer Hudson wore a chocolate Oscar de la Renta gown in 2007 painstakingly chosen by the late Vogue editor Andre Leon Talley. It was panned.

The body positive messaging of Lizzo and Meghan Trainor helped set the stage for Randolph’s breakout award season, as did the flattering looks chosen for her by Los Angeles-based stylists Wayman & Micah, the duo also behind Colman Domingo’s winning red carpet style.

But the inside work — most responsible for Randolph’s red carpet glow-up — sits with Randolph.

“[I’m speaking about] Black women and the Black experience from a place of dignity, pride, and class,” she told Gayle King on CBS Mornings this week. It’s been a monumental journey. Before this awards season, Randolph said, she thought she needed to be like others to be successful. “But I’ve come to know … it’s just you …”

The accolades from high fashion are nice, but nothing beats that self-validation — on or off the red carpet.