Call it the “No Apologies” dress.
At Monday night’s LA premiere for “Breaking Dawn: Part 2,” Kristen Stewart left little to the imagination in a sexy number that put the “vamp” in vampire.
The nude, strapless gown showed off all her assets on the red carpet — and gave the paparazzi an eyeful from behind when she turned around to sign autographs for adoring fans.
Designed by Zuhair Murad, it showcased a corseted bodice with a lace-and-chiffon paneled skirt fully displaying her enviable gams.
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She polished off the look with a flipped-over wavy ’do, a bold red lip and barely there accessories.
Fashion experts say the frock was a smart way to show the world Stewart’s ready for her next big move.
“Maybe this was her way of telling the world, ‘I’m not the teen star that you first knew when [“Twilight”] started a few years ago. I’m leaving “Twilight’’ behind me and am ready to move onto the next stage of my career as a woman,’ ” says Tracey Lomrantz Lester, contributing style editor at Glamour.
“I think it worked for a few reasons,” she adds. “Most importantly, it’s such a big departure from what we’re used to seeing her in. She always does the minidress, she always does that tomboy look, so it was really such a different, sophisticated view of her than we’ve ever seen.”
It was the 22-year-old starlet’s first red-carpet appearance with co-star and back-on-again beau Robert Pattinson.
In July, the actress was caught cheating with her married “Snow White and the Huntsman” director, Rupert Sanders — a headline-grabbing affair that rocked her three-year relationship with her “Twilight” co-star.
But her revealing dress seemed to signal a devil-may-care attitude.
“Celebrities, especially smart celebrities, use clothes and red-carpet moments to tell a number of different stories, and I think this one was a really great distraction from the scandal and [also] a way for her to step into the spotlight as a grown woman,” says Lomrantz Lester.
According to style expert Robert Verdi, the dress made a statement of both empowerment and revenge: “[It said], ‘I can move on at any moment,’ or ‘I’ve moved on’ or ‘I’m in the process of moving on, and I look fabulous’ combined with, ‘Aren’t you jealous?’ ”
And it wasn’t the first time Stewart called upon Lebanese designer Murad. In September, at the Toronto International Film Festival premiere of “On the Road,” — her first red-carpet appearance after her public apology to Pattinson — she donned a Murad black knee-length number.
With its see-through sleeves, sheer skirt and attention-grabbing sequin flowers, the cocktail frock signaled that Stewart was back.
But in terms of pure sex appeal, it couldn’t compete with Monday night’s dress, a gown from the designer’s fall 2012 ready-to-wear collection, with racy sheer panels that left Stewart exposed.
“It’s incredibly sexy, which is something that we typically see from Murad. He’s known for dressing the bombshell types,” adds Lomrantz Lester, name-checking A-listers such as Jennifer Lopez and Sofia Vergara. “He does really sexy, over-the-top super-glam better than a lot of people working in red-carpet dressing today.”
The frock also made an R-rated statement for Stewart’s legions of PG-13 fans.
“The sheer aspect of it is what’s going to trip a lot of people up,” says Lomrantz Lester.
“I love the concept of the dress. I think in execution — especially for the red carpet, and given that she has a lot of young fans — it could have been helped by a lining under the skirt.”
But Stewart appeared happy to put the “Twilight” saga behind her — and the dress seemed to mark the beginning of a new, more adult chapter in her career.
As Lomrantz Lester puts it: “This is the first time I’ve ever seen her smile on the red carpet!”
— Additional reporting by Timothy Mitchell
