DUBAI: While the 2021 Costume Designers Guild Awards went virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 24th annual CDGAs returned triumphantly in person to the Broad Stage in Santa Monica, with a show co-hosted by actors Andrew Rannells and Casey Wilson. The awards honor excellence in costume design in eight categories encompassing film, television and short form content. Naturally, celebrities turned up dressed to the nines, wearing show-stopping ensembles that were worthy of their very own awards. We even spotted a design from our neck of the woods. “Encanto” actress Stephanie Beatriz, who voices Mirabel Madrigal in the Disney animation, showed up wearing a sleeveless, flower-printed gown from Lebanese designer Reem Acra. The sparkling gown featured a long train and was plucked from the designer’s fall 2022 ready-to-wear collection, inspired by a midnight party in a forest. The color palette is comprised of the silver of moonlight, dark blue and black of the night sky and pops of berry red. Dramatic minidresses and majestic gowns punctuate the 27-piece collection. While Acra chose to pair the collection with gloves in the lookbook, Beatriz matched the dress with Alexandre Birman shoes and Jennifer Fisher jewelry. Acra’s mega-watt creations seem to be having a moment on the red carpet circuit. Just recently, US actress Fran Drescher, who played Fran Fine in “The Nanny,” turned up at the 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards in Santa Monica, California, in a black off-the-shoulder column gown with an embroidered bust and long-slit sleeves that served as a floor-skimming train from the Lebanese designer. Acra’s creations have been worn by numerous world-renowned personalities, including former US First Lady Melania Trump, singers Gwen Stefani and Jennifer Hudson, and actress Elle Fanning, among others. Many A-listers have even tied the knot in a Reem Acra creation, including “Big Bang Theory” star Kaley Cuoco, who wed equestrian Karl Cook in 2018 and turned to the Lebanese designer to create her embroidered wedding gown. As the world bounces back from the coronavirus pandemic and social restrictions ease, Acra’s customers are continuing to buy her pieces for parties and weddings. She recently launched an online business that offers virtual appointments for brides-to-be on the lookout for the ultimate wedding dress.