Amber Valletta, 51, wears THAT iconic Jennifer Lopez dress at CFDA Awards – 26 years after wearing the Versace gown BEFORE the singer’s history-making appearance

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 It is the dress that led to the creation of Google Images. 

Twenty-five years after Jennifer Lopez’s famous Versace gown turned heads, Amber Valletta, 51, revived the look at Monday night’s CFDA Awards held at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

The supermodel wore a stunning green dress to the event, where she presented Donatella Versace with an award recognizing her commitment to LGBTQ+ rights and her dedication to helping young people succeed.

Amber looked stunning in her flowing gown, which had a low neckline and a high slit, revealing her figure.

Although Jennifer Lopez is famous for wearing the dress, Amber Valetta actually wore it first. She modeled the gown on the Versace runway during the Spring/Summer 1999 show and has said it’s “kind of cool to be part of that history.”

In a 2023 interview with Vogue, Amber recalled wearing a particularly striking Versace outfit, describing it as the height of bold, glamorous style and ‘blond ambition.’ She specifically remembered wearing it on the runway and repeatedly referencing Donatella Versace while thinking about the look.

After designing the campaign, Jennifer Lopez famously wore the dress to the Grammys. It was a huge, unforgettable moment – the dress felt incredibly modern and empowering, like a bold statement of female strength and confidence, almost as if it came straight from a powerful, natural setting.

This dress received more online searches than any other outfit ever, and it actually caused a huge surge in internet traffic when she first wore it. It’s amazing to be connected to such a memorable moment.

Amber recently updated her style and continues to look amazing, highlighting her fit physique and toned abs.

I couldn’t help but notice her hair – it was almost exactly like her runway style from 1999! It really struck me how much she hasn’t changed over the years, and that hairstyle just emphasized it.

Jennifer caused a sensation at the 42nd Grammy Awards when she arrived with her boyfriend, P Diddy, wearing a now-iconic dress. She wasn’t the only one to wear it that night – Geri Halliwell, Christy Turlington, and even Donatella Versace also sported the gown.

Jennifer once described the dress as simply ‘nice,’ adding that she never expected it to become so famous.

Jennifer brought back the dress with a few changes at Milan Fashion Week for the Spring/Summer 2020 season, and the result was stunning.

In January 2015, Eric Schmidt, Google’s president, shared that the huge amount of online discussion about a certain dress actually led to the development of Google Images.

Back in 2000, Google searches only showed basic text-based webpages with links. However, the team quickly realized they needed to expand beyond text. The most searched-for item at the time was a picture of a dress, highlighting the need for image search functionality.

The dress became incredibly famous, much like Elizabeth Hurley’s iconic safety-pin Versace gown. Hurley wore that dress to the 1994 premiere of her boyfriend Hugh Grant’s film, Four Weddings and a Funeral, and it’s often credited with making her a star.

Although Gianni Versace designed the famous safety pin dress before his murder in 1997, it was his sister Donatella who created the equally recognizable green dress.

After the 2000 red carpet event, Donatella admitted she hadn’t anticipated the positive response to the dress, describing it as a surprising hit.

As a stylist, I’ve seen moments that truly define a celebrity’s impact, and Jennifer Lopez’s appearance in that dress was one of them. It instantly became a cultural touchstone – a real ‘everyone was talking about it’ moment. It reminded me so much of when Gianni Versace styled Elizabeth Hurley with those iconic safety pins – a look that immediately entered the history books. It’s that kind of instant, unforgettable impact we always strive for!

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2025-11-04 12:03