Jennifer Lopez Wore an Updated Version of Her Iconic Green Dress at the Versace SS20 Show During Milan Fashion Week
The phrase “break the internet” is thrown around a lot these days, but Jennifer Lopez is probably one of few celebs who actually did it — or perhaps it’s more accurate to say that she changed the internet forever. Either way, there’s no forgetting the infamous green Versace dress J.Lo wore to the 2000 Grammy Awards (you know, the one that casually inspired the birth of Google Images), and now, the Hustlers star has revived the gown in an equally iconic moment.
As noted by Vogue, J.Lo made a surprise appearance at the Versace SS20 show during Milan Fashion Week in a reimagined version of the dress from nearly two decades ago. Shortly after a group of models strutted down the runway to the singer’s “Love Don’t Cost a Thing,” audiences were reportedly shown a montage of image searches for J.Lo’s original green dress. A voice-over boomed: “OK, Google, now show me the real jungle dress,” prompting Jennifer’s entrance, video of which quickly went viral.
The updated version of the emerald green dress has some notable differences: the sleeves are gone, and additional cutouts in the torso provide an even more revealing effect. Of course, some factors are definitely the same: the plunging neckline all the way down to her navel, along with the billowing peek-a-boo skirt.
According to Vogue, Jennifer and Donatella Versace met up at this year’s Met Gala, where they devised a scheme for the singer’s applause-worthy cameo. “You know when I do something, I really do it,” the designer said.
Interestingly enough, the OG dress wasn’t as well-planned. Former stylist Andrea Lieberman told Billboard that J.Lo was without a dress the day before the Grammys. “I was preparing for a last-minute fitting with [Lopez] in New York, driving down Fifth Avenue in a taxi, and I remember seeing that green dress in the window of the Versace boutique,” she explained. “When she tried it on, everyone knew it was the dress.”
In a new video for Vogue, J.Lo also recounted the memory of trying the green dress on for the first time. The singer added that Lieberman expressed some doubt about the look, namely because celebrities (including Donatella Versace herself) had already worn the same gown. “I was like, ‘this is what we’re gonna wear, this is it,’” Jennifer said, noting that she didn’t think the dress was all that risqué at the time. “I was more excited that it was the Grammys; I wasn’t thinking about the dress all that much. I was just glad I had something to wear.”
The rest, as they say, was history. J.Lo hit the red carpet, the entire world lost their mind trying to look up photos of the gown, and it became the most popular search inquiry Google had ever seen (thus, the subsequent need for an image database for the search engine). “There was a little buzz in the air,” Jennifer told Vogue of the moment she stepped onto the Grammys carpet. “People started yelling and screaming — obviously they always yell and scream your name, but there was something extra about it.”
What’s more, the dress set a new standard for red carpet fashion, as Kevin Jones, curator of the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising Museum, explained to Billboard. “Bodily exposure to this degree had not been seen at an awards show before,” Jones said. “It was one of the first [looks] to establish a formula that has become expected of celebrities at popular music awards shows today: make a confident entrance, and make people’s jaws drop.” It’s safe to say that J.Lo still has the power to make a confident entrance, and after her cameo at Milan Fashion Week, we’re pretty sure no one’s jaws have come up from the floor just yet.
Want more from Teen Vogue? Check this out: 17 Times Jennifer Lopez Ruled the Red Carpet
Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue
