Have the Hollywood Strikes achieved the impossible and made us fall in love with awards shows again?
Obviously not. It is the accompanying peacocking that makes the situation bearable.
Not that the red carpet carnival has generated constructive viewing figures in recent years. Too beige (the Oscars), too commercial (Cannes), too silly (the Met Ball, which doesn’t even have any awards yet is the cringe-inducing party that ends it all), the red carpet dressing has been seriously fallen into disrepair. year.
And yet, I thoroughly enjoyed the outfits at the 2024 Golden Globes. Judging from my colleague Ed Power’s scathing review of the ceremony itself, the organizers could have saved themselves enough money to pay their screenwriters better by using the footage of the to expand on dresses and tuxedos and leave out the part where they all give each other a gong and cry.
You could tell this red carpet was going to be one hell of a sartorial show when one of the earlier arrivals, Gillian Anderson, showed up in an impeccable, strapless ivory Gabriela Hearst gown. First on the red carpet are normally the wannabes and hangers-on in various variations of Midwestern mall glamor.
Her milk pail was a little strange, but the floor-length, corseted number was so pretty that Grace Kelly no one could miss the reference (even though it was also embroidered with subtle vaginas in tribute to Sex education, the show for which she was nominated). Perhaps Anderson’s partner Peter Morgan will take the hint and work out a Monaco-centric script for her.
Brie Larson, the star of Lessons in chemistrya miniseries based on Bonnie Garmus’ hit novel about a 1950s female scientist, also channeled Kelly (as well as her character from classes) in ballerina-length lilac duchess satin from Prada and wavy hair that deserves its own nod for best follicular role.
Ballerina lengths were recently popular at the 81st Globes – a trend that, should it continue on other red carpets, will inevitably have an impact on wedding dresses, which are the main opportunity citizens get to sprinkle some stardust on their fashion.
Cailee Spaeny, star of Sofia Coppola’s new Priscilla Presley biopic, in a twig-print Miu-Miu dress with a full skirt; Elle Fanning in a cream-colored dress decorated with a bow; Reese Witherspoon in soft pink and black; and Ayo Edebiri (from hit show The bear) in a beautiful red duchesse satin column from Prada – they all opted for ballerina length and integrated corsets into their strapless dresses.
Margot Robbie continued her mission to squeeze as much edge out of her Barbie alter ego as possible in fuchsia Armani Privé sequins (also strapless) and $3 million worth of gemstones. She’s so beautiful that she can get away with the visual bludgeoning, but it would be a big change to see her in something really chic.
Carey Mulligan has also deep-rooted one of the characters she played last year. Felicia Montealegre Bernstein, who stars as Mulligan Masterwas 27 and on the ascendant of her Broadway career in 1949, the year Mulligan’s small-waisted monochrome Schiaparelli dress was created.
It looked spectacular (she’s great in the movie, too), but it was so tightly designed that she might not have enjoyed it much. By contrast, Florence Pugh, ideally cast as a Valentino ambassador (Pierpaolo Piccioli, the creative director there, really knows how to dress to suit both her body and her personality), looked completely at ease in spindly tied red chiffon.
Speaking of ease, Julianne Moore in a scarlet, floor-length dress with pockets was perfection. She often wears black (Hollywood actresses often do this to underline their seriousness), but crimson made her radiant. Designed by Matthieu Blazy of Bottega Veneta, an Italian label whose runway clothes excite the fashion crowd but hardly stand out, it had pockets, the crucial feature of a modern outfit, that gave it a modern, relaxed vibe. Bottega is now a red carpet. Be ready for much more red in the shopping streets.
For smart brands and stars, red carpet choices can redefine, challenge or confirm audiences’ preconceptions. Through quirky accessories, Rosamund Pike continues to position herself as a talented character actress who happens to possess classic Hollywood beauty. Not everyone was crazy about the black Philip Treacy fencing helmet-cum-veil she wore with her Dior couture gown, but most enjoyed taking risks.
Greta Lee, from Apple TV+ The Morning Show and the star of the breakout hit Past Lives, continues to wear interesting yet elegant outfits. Her flowy cream jersey Loewe racerback dress requires a serious attitude to work. She has oodles and that’s what happened.
An honorable mention for the men: actor and director John Krasinski, who managed to score red and burgundy by playing everything else relatively straight, and Andrew Scott, mainly because he was Andrew Scott, but also because he modeled for one of the big trends of the evening, head-to-toe white.
Applause to those who have found themselves in sheer or semi-sheer lingerie-inspired corsets: Ted Lasso‘s Hannah Waddingham in Suzanne Neville and Emily Blunt in the final look from Sarah Burton’s final show for Alexander McQueen last September. They looked great and were 100 percent committed to the act of doing it. Thank goodness the rest of us don’t have to do that.
And finally Meryl Streep in one of my favorite looks of the evening. It’s not a sentence that gets typed often, but Streep and her perfectly tailored, shiny fishtail skirt suit, blouse with scarf tie and playful, tiny cat-eye glasses are a testament to the youthful alchemy that comes from having the right designer/stylist (Piccioli again at Valentino) is found. meet the right actress. We’re not actually supposed to be buying sequins anymore, although there will probably be truckloads of them in the stores after this – bad for the planet.
Note to self: wear more toned specs and vintage glitter.