Maya Jama cosplays Elizabeth Hurley in plunging thigh-high slitted safety pin dress

Orion Scott
·2-min read
Maya Jama attends the MTV Europe Music Awards 2024 held at Co-op Live on November 10, 2024 in Manchester, England
Maya Jama attends the MTV Europe Music Awards 2024 held at Co-op Live on November 10, 2024 in Manchester, England (Daniele Venturelli)

If there’s anyone in this world who can pay homage to the iconic Elizabeth Hurley in the exact same dress 29 years later and make it look just as iconic, it’s It-Brit Maya Jama.

Stepping out onto the MTV EMAs red carpet on Sunday night, the Love Island host paid tribute to the award-winning actress in that thigh-high slit gown.

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Far from subtle, the gilded Versace midi dress in question featured a selection of gold-toned safety pins fixing the cutout waist feature together and accentuating the straps.

Maya Jama attends the MTV Europe Music Awards 2024 held at Co-op Live on November 10, 2024 in a black Versace dress
The Versace dress fitted Maya like a glove (Daniele Venturelli)

The elegant black dress fitted Maya like a glove, with the plunging neckline accentuating her curvaceous figure.

Maya Jama attends the MTV Europe Music Awards 2024 held at Co-op Live on November 10, 2024 in Manchester, England
Maya opted for her signature winged eyeliner look for the evening (Daniele Venturelli)

For glam, Maya let her long brunette locks roam free in a volumized loosely curled side part style while her makeup look radiated a healthy sunkissed glow.

British actor Hugh Grant and his girlfriend Elizabeth Hurley arrive at the post-premiere party of Grant's latest film, 'Four Weddings and a Funeral' on May 11, 1994 in London, England.
All eyes were understandably on Elizabeth at the 1994 premiere (Dave Benett)

Maya’s dress choice was made famous by a young Elizabeth Hurley in 1994 when she donned the sleek-chic dress to attend her then-boyfriend, Hugh Grant's movie premiere, Four Weddings and a Funeral. Back then, she was just starting out in the industry, playing a few small roles on the silver screen. Soon after she turned heads in the risque red carpet ensemble, her career began to skyrocket and within a year she was named the face of Estée Lauder and was cast in Austin Powers, Bedazzled and Inspector Morse.

Elizabeth Hurley at the premiere of Four Weddings and a Funeral in 1994
Elizabeth wore her stylish bob haircut in a side-parted style (Tom Wargacki)

Liz styled her 1994 ensemble with a selection of chunky gold jewellery, a pair of black platform heels and a fresh-faced makeup look.

In an exclusive interview with Harper's Bazaar in 2019, Liz reminisced on the night and the dress, saying: “I was so unprepared for what happened that night. I urgently needed to find a dress to wear for Hugh’s premiere, and in those days I had no idea about fashion.” After contacting a PR agency that let her borrow that gown for the night, Liz recalled doing her “own hair and makeup, fighting Hugh for the mirror, which wasn’t even full-length, in our tiny one-bedroom flat.”

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It’s unlikely that Liz knew just how iconic she was set to become all those years ago, the idea of having a style maven like Maya Jama replicating her look likely unfathomable.

This year's MTV EMAs took place in Manchester's Co-op Live arena. The opulent event saw famed faces, including Rita Ora, Shawn Mendes, Vick Hope and Raye, celebrating the music industry under one roof.