Charred Oscar Destroyed in L.A. Wildfires Turns Up at Chateau Marmont, Months After Fake Viral Photo

In the wake of January’s catastrophic Palisades Fire, an image featuring a charred Academy Award sitting atop a pile of rubble went viral and became a symbol of the devastation, not only for the area but for its impact on Hollywood professionals. Many industry insiders reposted the image complete with emotional captions including veteran actress Isabella Rossellini, who had just been nominated for an Oscar for Conclave. The image, however, turned out to be fake and AI generated.

Fast-forward to Wednesday when a real charred Oscar turned up at Chateau Marmont, where it was pictured on the famed hotel terrace during a starry event hosted by Anna Wintour and Vogue to announce the details for the forthcoming Vogue World: Hollywood. It belongs to four-time Oscar winner Colleen Atwood, who lost her home in the Palisades Fire as she confirmed during a poignant moment at the podium alongside fellow costume designers Arianne Phillips and Ruth E. Carter.

“As a costume designer and a victim of the Palisades Fire, I thank Vogue for this amazing support,” Atwood said. “I can say the stages of reality and the need for support will be long lasting. First, it is a roof over your head, the basics, food, clothing, schools in each individual’s needs. Then the fog shifts to the hovering unanswerable we will continue to be searching for. Without the help of my friends, I do not know what I would’ve done. The continued support of our fellow artists and this organization is going to be an ongoing need for this. We all thank you.”

She expressed gratitude in that way because Vogue World: Hollywood is an event designed to uplift and support the costume design community specifically. Set to take place at Paramount Pictures on Oct. 26, the fourth installment of the starry event promises to be more than just a spectacle of, as Wintour detailed, “a one-night-only show with a huge cast of models and actors and dancers and musicians and surprises.” It will serve as a tribute to “the love affair between fashion and film,” with a special focus on philanthropy and helping costume designers impacted by the catastrophic Los Angeles wildfires. As such, 100 percent of ticket sales will benefit the Entertainment Community Fund.

Atwood, Phillips, and Carter will have some of their work on display at the event alongside peers like Milena Canonero, Catherine Martin, Sandy Powell and Jacqueline West, with additional character costuming by Shirley Kurata.

Scheduling the next installment on the West Coast — following iterations in New York, London and Paris — had been in the works since last fall as a way to help revitalize the entertainment industry in the wake of devastating labor strikes. But then the fires hit. “Crises happen usually when we least expect them,” Wintour said during the event. “Mixing fashion and the arts and culture in the center of a city, and by raising funds for a vital cause, Vogue World has become a runway show as a rallying cry, a way to fix the attention of a huge global audience, to bring awareness and sound and unmistakable notes of positivity, creativity and hope.”

It’s unclear which of Atwood’s four Oscars was displayed at the event. She’s won for her work on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Alice in Wonderland, Memoirs of a Geisha and Chicago. As previously reported by Gold Derby, a source at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences said the org would replace anyone’s statue destroyed in the L.A. wildfires. “We will absolutely be happy to replace it,” the source said.