Jennifer Lopez Wasn't The First To Wear Her Iconic Green Grammys Dress
In fashion, you don't necessarily have to be the first to wear something to gain attention. You just have to wear it the best. Such is the case with Jennifer Lopez and the iconic green Versace dress she first wore to the Grammys in 2000. The daring look, which featured translucent fabric and a deep plunging neckline, created such an uproar that Google, which had been inundated with searches about the dress, was compelled to create Google Image Search, according to GQ. No, we're not kidding.
In the years since, J.Lo's green dress has taken on a life of its own. In addition to gaining its own Wikipedia page, there was even also a petition floating around titled "Stop Jennifer Lopez and that Green Dress," because, well, the singer/actor has talked about it a lot. Over the years, different celebrities have gone on to wear iterations of this conversation-starting dress, including Lopez herself. She even wore an updated version of it in 2020, per Vogue. However, the singer actually wasn't the first person to don this particular ensemble. Actually, several ladies wore this look before she did!
Donatella Versace wore the green dress before Jennifer Lopez
Before there was Jennifer Lopez, there was Versace. Donatella Versace, that is. Months before Lopez's Grammy outfit was the talk of the town, the famed fashion designer and sister to the late Gianni Versace wore the creation from her family's brand at the 1999 Met Gala (per Hola). The theme of the legendary event was "Rock Style," and Versace's dress caught eyes at the event. However, the dress would ultimately catch the eyes of the world through Lopez.
On her YouTube channel, Lopez recounted her experience trying the iconic dress on for the first time. Admittedly, she was busy filming "The Wedding Planner" and recording music, so she didn't have time to approve different looks ahead of the 2000 Grammys. On the day of the show, her stylist only had two options — a white dress and the Versace dress. "I put on the green dress and . . . and [Lopez's manager] Benny [Medina] goes, 'That's it. That's it. Don't even talk about it. That's the dress,'" Lopez revealed. "And, of course, my stylist is mortified. She's like, 'No! It's been worn before!'" That last tidbit didn't matter much as J.Lo's version of the dress remains the most memorable.
Sandra Bullock and Geri Halliwell also wore the Versace dress
Donatella Versace isn't the only A-lister who donned the jungle print dress in 1999. In December of that year, Sandra Bullock wore a different shade of the dress at the VH1 Vogue Fashion Awards, according to Biography. Even though Bullock's look failed to garner the same amount of fanfare, for the actor's credit, she sported an orange/red shade that gave the dress a whole other feel. The next year, Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, better known as Ginger Spice, also took a stab at this look. In January 2000, Halliwell rocked a near-identical version of the Versace dress at the NRJ Music Awards in France
However, none of these ladies were the very first to wear the dress. That honor belongs to supermodel Amber Valletta. When Versace premiered the original design on the runway for the brand's 2000 Spring/Summer fashion show, Valletta was the model who wore the dress. Still, she was more than happy to give Jennifer Lopez her props. "I think J.Lo wore it incredibly," said Valletta in a conversation with WSJ Magazine (via People). "It's just an amazing dress that Donatella [Versace] designed that just has such longevity and is an iconic piece in fashion history. I don't think it's about who wears anything best. I think we're all uniquely beautiful and have individually something to bring."