On the 2021 Brit Awards red carpet, punkish maximalism reigned supreme
From Vivienne Westwood corsetry to Union Jack motifs, this year’s Brit Awards was a riot of punk nostalgia.
Take it from the 2021 Brit Awards — from now into the foreseeable future, red carpet fashion should be nothing short of riotous. The ceremony, one of the first significant events to be held in person since Covid-19 hit the UK, was a 4,000-person strong celebration of both British and international musical talent. It’s no surprise then that attendees at the awards, including pop stars Dua Lipa, Harry Styles and Taylor Swift, were dressed for a comeback.
No black-and-white induced boredom, none of the slinky, beige, naked dresses that reigned supreme in the early half of the 2010s. If there’s anything that this year’s awards season has taught us, it’s that celebrities and stylists are more than ready to plunge into the avant-garde, peppering the crimson carpet with a bevy of feathered colour, crystals and in-the-know references to fashion history.
Case in point: the aforementioned Dua Lipa, pioneer of modern disco and face of the early ’oughts comeback. Though she’s proven her loyalty to the figure-hugging, sartorial chainmail of Versace lore for the 2021 season, Lipa broke away for the Brits, choosing instead to embrace her roots.
Dressed in none other than the iconic Vivienne Westwood, Lipa’s mini dress was off-shoulder and corseted, draped asymmetrically to boot. Over the lustrous golden silk, the piece sported a violet mesh overlay that matched her dirty purple, strappy ghillie platform heels. The final polish to a look brimming with punk? A classic Westwood three-strand pearl choker, royal orb pendant and all. The similarity between Lipa’s beehive and the sartorial signature of the late and great Amy Winehouse was also not missed by keen-eyed observers.
On stage, Lipa’s ode to British design continued. Beginning her performance with a double-breasted tartan duster, the star revealed not one, but two more looks underneath — a chain-detailed blazer, painted all over with a Union Jack, and a custom Westwood corset, layered over a white shirt, pinstripe tie and Baby Spice-approved kilt.
If Lipa’s looks were the pinnacle of opulent accessorising, singer Harry Styles was the equivalent menswear poster boy. His outfit was also a throwback — not an intertextual reference per se, but a two-piece sepia suit courtesy of Gucci, patterned with geometric shapes reminiscent of ’70s wallpaper. It was a nostalgic sensibility that translated to Styles’ hair — a coiffed ’50s ’do, sans cowlick, that was worlds away from the long, rocker’s locks he wore to the Grammys earlier this year. Always one for sartorial details, Styles made sure to treat his nails with due respect, polishing them in a pearlescent silver to offset the earthiness of his outfit, and match the tones of the peach shirt underneath his jacket.
In fact, silvers and stark whites were popular shades on the night, with American sweetheart Taylor Swift choosing a coordinating bralette and maxi skirt from the preppy Miu Miu. The set, encrusted with sequins and beads, was a masterclass in understated, yet elevated, party dressing. Artists Headie One, Adam Lambert, and Little Mix all made their carpet cameo in the colour too, dressed by Louis Vuitton, Dolce & Gabbana and David Koma respectively.
Others, of course, took a route that was decidedly more saturated. Olivia Rodrigo, 18-year-old star of Disney’s television adaptation of High School Musical, and the singer behind the viral song, Driver’s License, wore two custom Chrsitian Dior gowns — one, a strapless neon tulle creation, cinched at the waist with a thin black belt; in the other, Rodrigo looked every inch the modern Cher in a sheer crimson kaftan, draped over a sequin bralette and micro-shorts. Fellow guests, such as Raye, Mabel and Rina Sawayama, introduced additional colour and volume, transforming the red carpet into a smorgasbord of syrupy greens, blinding pinks and ruffled lilacs.
If the Brit Awards have made anything clear, it’s that the era of approaching formalwear with conservatism is over. Welcome to the post-pandemic red carpet.
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