Given the tumult of recent years, some expected stars might approach the Golden Globes with sartorial reservedness. And yet, despite the rainy conditions, Hollywood’s great and good returned to the event’s grey carpet 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.
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 shortcut 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.
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.
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 dip-dyed 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 rocking crisp colour-pop satin looks from the French house – The Crown star Debiki’s look a fuchsia strapless column gown, and Taylor-Joy’s a lemon 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 too: former Spiderman Andrew Garfield arrived in caramel-coloured Zegna, Seth Rogen in head-to-toe Dior salmon and loudest of them all, Billy Porter nodded to his famous 2019 Oscars outfit in a vivid magenta Christian Siriano tuxedo dress with train. Proper power dressing.
