Remember when pro-wrestler Chyna flipped the script on red carpet fashion?

EDITOR’S NOTE: Delving into the archives of pop culture history, “ Remember When? ” is a CNN Style series offering a nostalgic look at the celebrity outfits that defined their eras.

Remember when professional wrestler Joan Marie Laurer — better known by her ring name, Chyna — walked the Emmy Awards red carpet in a dress that looked more SmackDown than starlet?

It was 1999, the height of popularity for World Wrestling Entertainment (then known as the WWF). Driven by big personalities like The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin, pro-wrestling’s TV ratings were regularly surpassing mainstream sports, including even the NBA playoffs. The Simpsons had already aired an episode featuring Hall of Famer Bret “Hitman” Hart, and a year later the first video game in a major franchise — WWF SmackDown! — would have its inception.

In a sea of more traditionally glitzy looks, Laurer arrived at the Emmys in a leather rhinestone-studded dress cut in all the right places to show off her extraordinary muscular frame.

Ron Galella/Getty Images

It was a red carpet variation of the costumes Laurer often wore in the ring. In particular, another studded two-piece she had performed in a month earlier at the 1999 SummerSlam — though this time she swapped out her wrestling gloves for a little black purse and her fighting boots for square-toed, heeled mules. With her hair coiled into soft bouncy waves, smoky eyeshadow and diamond studded earrings, Laurer was the picture of unconventional femininity.

Not to mention her camera pose of choice that night: a bicep flex. Laurer’s stacked physique and high muscle mass was unusual amid the ‘90s waifish trend. Looking back now, at a time when GLP-1s are shrinking female celebrity bodies, the look still feels radical. “People would ask if I was a feminist, and women would say that I would show that women can be strong,” Laurer told Wrestling Inc in 2015 . But Laurer was also bullied about her appearance, such as in a 2013 episode of E!’s “Fashion Police” where pro-wrestler Nikki Bella and host Joan Rivers questioned her gender — something Bella later apologized for.

Marlin Levison/Star Tribune/Getty Images

Before her untimely death in 2016 , Laurer racked up a series of record-breaking professional accolades. In 1999, she became the first woman to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship and the first woman to enter the traditionally male Royal Rumble match — which sees wrestlers eliminate opponents by throwing them over the top rope so that both feet touch the floor. Laurer was also the only WWF Women’s Champion to end her reign without losing the title in a match. (The World Wrestling Federation, or WWF, changed its name to World Wrestling Entertainment in 2002.)

Throughout her career, Laurer broke down barriers by challenging expectations of womanhood and athleticism. Just a year after the Emmys red carpet, Laurer posed for the cover of Playboy’s November 2000 issue, an experience she said, “made me feel beautiful.” Her nude photoshoot reportedly went on to break sales records, but it ruffled the feathers of Vince McMahon, co-founder of WWE, she said. “Vince didn’t want a Playboy model holding the (World) title,” she continued during the Wrestling Inc interview. “I was fighting for my femininity and fighting for my own style, so there were a lot of changes happening at the same time.”

Steve Granitz/WireImage/Getty Images

Laurer was as much of a rule-breaker in fashion, appearing on red carpets head-to-toe in sequins , dressed up as Wonder Woman, or draped in chunky silver jewellery from forehead to jaw. The awards circuit, like the ring, was just another stage, and Laurer approached it from the perspective of having fun, even if that meant laughing off a wardrobe malfunction as she did at the 2005 People’s Choice Awards when she broke the heel of her black laced stiletto boots . In 2008, she worked with a fashion photographer to create her own photobook, “Paper Doll,” which featured editorial-style images of Laurer dressed up alongside her own poetry.

Wrestlers, perhaps more than any other professional athlete, understand the importance of clothing as performance. Pro-wrestling is theatrically staged, and costumes are a huge part of the storyline. Laurer’s spandex match gear, which she often paired with fishnet tights and a choker necklace, was her armor. Recently, wrestling culture has been receiving more recognition from the fashion world — Jean Paul Gaultier made elaborately embellished lucha libre masks for his Spring-Summer 2015 show, Chappell Roan wore a pink and blue luchador-inspired outfit made of latex and iridescent leather at Lolapalooza in 2024, and Mattel launched a line of WWE Barbie dolls in 2021.

In her WWE leather dress, Laurer went head-to-head with narrow beauty standards and fashion’s insular culture on the Emmy’s red carpet. Looking back at the striking photo almost 30 years later, it’s clear she won.

编者按：深入挖掘流行文化历史档案，“忆往昔？”是 CNN Style 的一个系列节目，以怀旧的视角回顾了定义各个时代的明星服装。

你还记得职业摔跤手琼·玛丽·劳勒（Joan Marie Laurer，更为人熟知的擂台名是Chyna）穿着一件看起来更像是摔跤节目《SmackDown》的服装而不是明星礼服走上艾美奖红毯的场景吗？

那是1999年，世界摔角娱乐（当时名为WWF）正值鼎盛时期。在巨石强森和冷石史蒂夫·奥斯汀等巨星的带动下，职业摔角的电视收视率经常超过主流体育赛事，甚至包括NBA季后赛。《辛普森一家》已经播出了一集以名人堂成员布雷特·“杀手”·哈特为主角的剧集，一年后，首款大型系列电子游戏——WWF SmackDown！——问世。

在一众传统华丽造型中，劳勒身穿一件镶满水钻的皮革礼服亮相艾美奖，这件礼服的剪裁恰到好处，完美展现了她非凡的健美身材。

Ron Galella/Getty Images

这套服装是劳勒在擂台上常穿的服装的红毯版本。尤其是她一个月前在1999年夏日狂潮大赛上穿过的另一套镶满铆钉的两件套——不过这次她把摔跤手套换成了黑色小手提包，把格斗靴换成了方头高跟凉鞋。她一头蓬松柔软的波浪卷发，画着烟熏眼影，戴着镶钻耳环，劳勒完美诠释了非传统的女性魅力。

更别提她当晚选择的拍照姿势了：秀二头肌。在90年代流行的纤瘦风潮中，劳勒健硕的身材和浓密的肌肉显得格外另类。如今，在GLP-1类药物让女明星身材走样的时代，她的这种体型依然显得激进。“人们会问我是不是女权主义者，而女性会说，我证明了女性也可以很强大，”劳勒在2015年接受Wrestling Inc采访时说道。但劳勒也曾因外貌遭受霸凌，例如在2013年E!频道的“时尚警察”节目中，职业摔跤手妮基·贝拉和主持人琼·里弗斯质疑她的性别——贝拉后来为此道歉。

Marlin Levison/Star Tribune/Getty Images

在2016年英年早逝之前，劳勒曾创下多项职业纪录。1999年，她成为首位赢得世界摔跤联合会（WWF）洲际冠军的女性，也是首位参加传统上由男性选手参加的皇家大战的女性——皇家大战的规则是将对手扔出擂台，使其双脚落地即可淘汰。劳勒也是唯一一位在未输掉任何一场比赛的情况下结束其WWF女子冠军统治的选手。（世界摔跤联合会，即WWF，于2002年更名为世界摔跤娱乐公司。）

劳勒的职业生涯中，她不断挑战人们对女性气质和运动能力的固有认知，打破了诸多壁垒。在艾美奖红毯亮相仅仅一年后，劳勒就登上了2000年11月刊的《花花公子》杂志封面。她表示，这段经历“让我觉得自己很美”。据报道，她的裸照拍摄打破了销售纪录，但同时也激怒了WWE联合创始人文斯·麦克曼。她在接受Wrestling Inc采访时继续说道：“文斯不想让一个《花花公子》模特持有（世界）冠军头衔。我当时既在为我的女性气质而战，也在为我自己的风格而战，所以很多事情同时发生。”

Steve Granitz/WireImage/Getty Images

劳勒在时尚界同样是个不拘一格的人物，她曾以从头到脚的亮片装扮亮相红毯，也曾装扮成神奇女侠，或是从额头到下巴都佩戴着厚重的银饰。对她而言，颁奖典礼就像她的戒指一样，只是另一个舞台。劳勒总是抱着享受其中的心态去面对，即便这意味着要一笑置之，比如在2005年的人民选择奖颁奖典礼上，她黑色系带细高跟靴的鞋跟断了，她也毫不在意。2008年，她与一位时尚摄影师合作，创作了自己的摄影集《纸娃娃》（Paper Doll），书中收录了劳勒盛装打扮的时尚大片，以及她自己创作的诗歌。

或许比其他任何职业运动员都更了解摔跤服作为表演元素的重要性。职业摔跤本身就是一场戏剧表演，而服装则是故事情节的重要组成部分。劳勒的氨纶比赛服，她经常搭配渔网袜和颈链，就是她的盔甲。近年来，摔跤文化越来越受到时尚界的关注——让·保罗·高缇耶在其2015春夏系列中设计了精美的墨西哥摔跤面具；查佩尔·罗恩在2024年的Lolapalooza音乐节上身穿一套由乳胶和虹彩皮革制成的粉蓝色墨西哥摔跤风格服装；美泰公司在2021年推出了WWE芭比娃娃系列。

身着WWE皮裙的劳勒在艾美奖红毯上，直面狭隘的审美标准和时尚界的封闭文化。近30年后，回看这张引人注目的照片，很明显，她赢了。