It wasn't just the dress that broke the Internet, it was the one that changed it forever: Jennifer Lopez's instantly iconic green Versace gown, worn at the 42nd annual Grammy Awards in February 2000, was allegedly the impetus for the creation of Google Images search. And though the famous look been replicated in the two decades since— by Little Mermaid leading lady Halle Bailey, and also by RuPaul's Drag Race star Kerri Colby and, jokingly, by South Park co-creator Trey Parker, among others—that moment has never been duplicated.
So it's a surprise, then, that JLo's stylist at the time almost didn't let that moment happen at all. During a chat with Vogue, the multihyphenate star did a rundown of 17 of her most iconic looks. (And with her current spate of stunning ensembles, from this gorgeous floral cape to a coat entirely made of real roses, the list is only getting longer.) She revealed that she went against her stylist's wishes and ultimately ended up being right about the Versace look—it did, of course, cause "quite a stir":
I wore it to the Grammys. It was a dress that other people had worn already. My stylist was like, 'Please don't wear it, somebody else has worn it.' I was like, 'Well you bought it and it looks the best, so I'm gonna wear it.' And so I did. It caused quite a stir.
The vibrant frock featured a tropical leaf and bamboo pattern and plenty of sheer panels, showing off Lopez's world-famous figure (though the star did later admit in her Netflix documentary Halftime that it was hard to deal with all of that scrutiny about her body).
The high-profile garment not only made Versace as a household name in the fashion world but also solidified Jennifer's status as a veritable style icon. The triple threat would memorably revisit the moment by closing the brand's jungle-themed Spring 2020 show in Milan, strutting down the runway in a green silk chiffon gown that lovingly harked back to the history-making original.
Lopez told Vogue that the Grammys dress, like all of her famous fashion moments, was a collaboration with all of the stylists she's worked with and how the gown has become this generation's "Marilyn dress." (just don't get Kim Kardashian near it!)
It's always been a collaboration with all the stylists I've worked with... it's always been a collaboration. I guess every generation needs its iconic kind of Marilyn dress, and this is that dress for that generation. Why it became that? It was just a moment. You know? When the wind blew open and I walked out onto the stage and it just kind of happened.
Currently on the promo tour of her new studio album This Is Me...Now, its corresponding narrative film of the same name and the Bennifer documentary The Greatest Love Story Never Told—both movies are streaming exclusively for Prime Video subscribers—Lopez will undoubtedly be unleashing even more memorable looks as the season continues. But none will be as iconic as that green Grammys dress.
