The real story behind Rose McGowan’s 1998 VMA ‘nude’ dress

Maja Hanson might not be a household name, but her work has earned a place in Hollywood fashion history.

In 1998, Rose McGowan attended the VMAs on the arm of her then-boyfriend Marilyn Manson, wearing a barely there beaded dress from Hanson’s label Maja, which has since become one of the discount looks. most iconic awards of all time, despite being largely uncredited by the press for the past 22 years.

According to the designer, the revealing dress McGowan says she was “ashamed of a bitch” for wearing on her own kicked off the trend for “nude” dresses on the red carpet. “Those kind of looks were happening on the runway back then, but I think she was the one who took it from the runway to the red carpet,” Hanson, 49, told Page Six Style Exclusive. .

“I don’t remember anyone doing it before her. Others have worn similar clothes since, but she was the first to really experience that “wow” moment. “

Hanson says the “Scream” star chose the dress herself during a visit to her New York studio with Manson, which was being adjusted for her custom fur-trimmed leopard look for the VMAs.

“While we were adjusting it, she was looking at the clothes,” the designer recalls. “We had this storage cupboard at the back of the studio where we archived pieces from previous collections, and we remember that she came in, tried on, came back and asked if she could borrow it. We said to ourselves: “Yes, of course!” “

Hanson and his business partner at the time, Seana Gordon, had no idea McGowan would continue to wear the dress at the VMAs, but the piece clearly deserved a red carpet moment.

Originally modeled after the Maja Spring 1997 runway show by Jaime King (who passed by James at the time), it was made from a single rectangular swatch of iridescent beaded mesh on the front and hand-threaded strands of the same glass beads on the back, and took several days to make.

“We called it the ‘chain dress,’ but it wasn’t actually made of chains,” Hanson laughed.

Adding to the stunning effect, McGowan wore nothing under the dress except for a tiny leopard print thong that matched Manson’s costume perfectly. “Rose really made it her own,” Hanson said. “It was such a bold statement to wear this in the sun.”

Years later, the #MeToo executive, who was among the first women to accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault, revealed the nearly naked gaze was intended for a political statement, as the VMAs marked her first appearance on the red carpet after her alleged rape in 1997. But at the time, Hanson said she didn’t realize her design would be part of such a powerful story.

“I had no idea,” the South Florida native told us. “We had a lot of stripped and revealing looks in the collection at the time; it was something I was known for. I have always been interested in spreading a message of empowerment not necessarily political, but showing women in a position of strength, and [sharing the message that] your body is up to you to show what you want. “

If social media had existed at the time, McGowan’s look surely would have gone viral, but even without Twitter and Instagram as a gauge, Hanson remembers the praise of his fellow fashion insiders, stylists and post-VMA editors. “We were so happy. We thought she looked amazing, ”she said.

McGowan wasn’t the only star making a splash in Maja; By the time Hanson closed her brand in 2001, she had also created looks for Madonna, Cyndi Lauper and Lil ‘Kim and provided parts for “Sex and the City”.

“Tap [Field, the HBO hit’s costume designer] gave me my first break, ”said Hanson. “My first order of clothes came from her, and the show in the second episode of the show is actually my show.”

After leaving fashion design, Hanson followed in his father’s footsteps, sculptor Duane Hanson, working in Jeff Koons’ studio and teaching at the Rhode Island School of Design, his alma mater. But to this day, the now Boston-based mom-of-four says McGowan’s dress will always hold a special place in her heart.

“I’m really proud of it,” she told us. “I think Rose is amazing and I am honored to be associated with what she represents. As a woman, I am proud to be a part of her story.