Outfit of the Week: America Ferrera swaps pink for a sleek black tux

Look of the Week: This regular series unpacks the most talked about outfit of the last seven days, featuring the good, the bad, and the ugly.

America Ferrera turned heads at the Governors Awards on Tuesday, ditching Barbie's signature pink for a sleek black custom Moschino tuxedo. The actor looked sharp in matching pants, cummerbund, and bow tie, complete with sleek grosgrain peak lapels.

Ferrera's take on classic menswear at the Golden Globes this week was a striking contrast to her "Barbie" co-star Margot Robbie's ruffled hot-pink homage to a vintage Barbie doll. It continued the trend of power-dressing and statement-making by Hollywood's leading ladies.

Calm, cool and collected: Zhou Xun, Emily Blunt and Cate Blanchett are seen filming a campaign for IWC Schaffhausen in Portofino, Italy.

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Tuxedos for women are now common on red carpets, runways, and luxury ads. Famed watchmaker IWC Schaffhausen featured Cate Blanchett, Emily Blunt, and Zhou Xun in tuxedos for their 2014 "Timeless Portofino" campaign, showcasing the versatility of the classic look.

Fashion designers have also given the tux some playful makeovers in recent years. Who could forget the stunning green Burberry three-piece with black lapels worn by Lou, Cate Blanchett's character in "Oceans 8"; the playful sage Tom Ford tux, paired with a black tie and oversized pink bow accent on her waistline, that Blanchett herself wore to last year's Green Carpet Fashion Awards; or Janelle Monae's Dolce & Gabbana embroidered floral number at the 2018 Grammys?

Cate Blanchett wears a Tom Ford tux to the Green Carpet Fashion Awards 2023.

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Janelle Monae attends the 2018 Grammy Awards in Dolce & Gabbana.

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But it wasnt always easy for women to sport a jacket and pants in public.

Ferrera's sleek tuxedo paid homage to Marlene Dietrich's iconic suit in the 1930 film "Morocco." At the time, this look, complete with a top hat, was groundbreaking, as women wearing pants outside the home was still considered unconventional. Today, women have a debt of gratitude to trailblazing actors like Dietrich, Greta Garbo, and Katharine Hepburn who defied societal norms and the expectations of the studios that employed them by wearing pants.

It wasn't until Yves Saint Laurent introduced his famous "Le Smoking tuxedo" in his Fall-Winter 1966 collection that the female tuxedo began to be recognized in the world of high fashion. Even then, its acceptance as a wardrobe staple was still a work in progress.

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Hollywood icon Marlene Dietrich broke with social convention of the time by sporting a tuxedo with bow tie and top hat.

According to the brand's website at their Paris museum, Saint Laurent's tuxedo was deemed too ahead of its time and was rejected by his high fashion customers. Despite the designer's claim that the outfit was essential and would always be stylish, only one tuxedo from that collection was sold.

The label emphasized that the garment was stylish rather than fashionable, citing the founder's belief that "Fashions fade, style is eternal." The designer incorporated tuxedos into collections until 2002. With a younger generation of actors such as Bella Ramsey, Zendaya, and Ariana Greenblatt embracing the tuxedo, modern versions like the one worn by Greenblatt at the recent Golden Globes are expected to make more appearances on the red carpet and beyond.

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America Ferrera in her custom Moschino tuxedo. The Saint Laurent museum cite the look as being a "stylish garment not a fashionable garment."

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Observers appear far kinder today than in Dietrich and Hepburns time.

"Le smoking… hot," read one comment on Ferreras stylist Karla Welchs Instagram post, while another user wrote: "Oh! One year ALL the women should wear tuxes to a show!"