Why Jennifer Lopez's Grammy's Dress Was Responsible For Google Images
Jennifer Lopez. Photo: Getty Images.
When Jennifer Lopez cruised into the 2000 Grammy's wearing that Versace gown, she instantly made headlines.
The plunging design, which was sheer from top to bottom, caused Google to go into overdrive as people searched for photos of the singer.
At the time, Google Images was not yet a thing - but thanks to the interest in J. Lo's dress, the functionality was born overnight, as Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt explains:
"People wanted more than just text. This first became apparent after the 2000 Grammy Awards, where Jennifer Lopez wore a green dress that, well, caught the world's attention. At the time, it was the most popular search query we had ever seen. But we had no surefire way of getting users exactly what they wanted: J-Lo wearing that dress. Google Image Search was born."
Donatella Versace credits the dress with reviving the luxury label following the murder of her brother, Gianni Versace, in 1997.
"It was an unexpected success," she told the Canadian Press. "The next day she [Jennifer Lopez] was everywhere and people were talking about her in that dress. It was one of those moments like the one that Gianni [Versace] had with Elizabeth Hurley and clothes-pins."
J Lo herself reportedly had no idea the dress would make such a splash, telling People magazine: "It didn't seem that out there to me. It was a good-looking dress. I had no idea it was going to be such a big deal."
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