On Tuesday evening the infamous Golden Globes red carpet returned after a two-year hiatus. While Covid-19 shuttered the 2021 ceremony, last year’s event was changed to a private, untelevised dinner after the body in charge of selecting the nominees and winners, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), was embroiled in financial and ethical misconduct charges, including being called for a lack of diversity in its nomination nights.
Given the tumult of recent years, some expected stars might approach last night’s Golden Globes with sartorial reservedness. And yet, despite the rainy conditions, Hollywood’s great and good returned to the grey carpet at the Beverley Hilton hotel with pre-pandemic levels of high-octane glamour.
The ceremony typically serves as a bellwether not only for who will win Oscars in March, but for the fashion trends we can expect to see throughout awards season. And if last night was anything to go by, dramatic silhouettes, shimmering pastel pinks and technicolour tuxedos are set to win big in 2023.
Among the best dressed was Pam and Tommy star Lily James, who cut a striking figure in a voluminous red taffeta Versace gown that echoed the shade of Pamela Anderson’s famous swimsuit. So voluminous in fact James had to travel to the event standing upright in a van.
Also bringing the drama were Rihanna in a custom black velvet Schiaparelli gown and Selena Gomez, who attended with her 9-year-old sister in tow wearing a Valentino Couture gown with vast aubergine puff sleeves.
Pastel pinks proved popular, with Salma Hayek Pinault and Michelle Williams in Gucci, Claire Danes in Giambattista Valli and Jessica Chastain in Oscar de la Renta and Gucci jewellery. Three-time Golden Globes nominee Margot Robbie achieved sugary perfection in a Chantilly lace and silk custom Chanel gown, ending the TikTok rumours that she has severed her ties as an ambassador for the brand. The French label said the Barbiecore look took 750 hours of work to complete and featured 30,000 hand embroidered beads, feathers and sequins.
For White Lotus star Jennifer Coolidge, who dazzled in a black Dolce & Gabbana maxi, and Black Panther’s Angela Bassett, who went for a silver halter neck gown by American eveningwear label Pamela Rolland, sequins were the quick step to old school Hollywood starlet. Best Actress Award winner Michelle Yeoh also took home style gongs, as she shimmered in a midnight blue strapless Armani Privé crystal sequinned gown.
Ruffles had a big night, with a triumph of stars sporting the silhouette — from Michelle Williams who rocked a Gucci dress with head-to-toe champagne pleats accented with metallic hems to Julia Garner who rocked a pink Gucci frock whose train descended into a mound of ruffles. Normal People lead Daisy Edgar-Jones also wowed in a lingerie-esque gown which had a frilled, tiered skirt.
Other notable looks came from Laverne Cox who wowed in vintage John Galliano, and Black Panther star Letitia Wright, who looked effortlessly chic in a burnt orange ombre-print silk maxi dress from Prada’s Spring 2023 collection.
Also embracing a more minimalist aesthetic were Dior ambassadors Elizabeth Debicki and Anya Taylor-Joy both rocked crisp colour pop satin looks from the French house – The Crown star Debicki’s a fuchsia strapless column gown, and Taylor-Joy’s a lemon yellow crop and maxi skirt.
The men were more experimental than ever. Eddie Redmayne, who attended with his wife Hannah, rocked a black Valentino tux with a huge silk floral applique on his lapel, Reece Feldman went for a pleated skirt over trousers, while TikTok star Josh Richards sported a cropped T-shirt underneath his pinstripe suit.
Others bid adieu to boring black tuxedos: former Spiderman Andrew Garfield in caramel coloured Zegna, Seth Rogen in head-to-toe Dior salmon and loudest of them all, Billy Porter made a nod to his famous 2019 Oscars outfit, in a vivid magenta Christian Siriano tuxedo dress with train.
It was later revealed that Pose creator Ryan Murphy personally asked Porter to bring back the boundary-breaking look. “Bitch, it’s in a museum,” he recalled Porter responding during his Carol Burnett Award acceptance speech – so while the actor couldn’t rewear the exact outfit (it’s currently on display in the V&A’s “Fashioning Masculinities: The Art of Menswear” exhibit in London) Siriano whipped up a replica.
