golden globes fashion
Boldness and surrealist glamour coexisted with classic elegance at Hollywood’s most colourful award ceremony.
If the Academy Awards are the tentpole event of Hollywood’s annual award season, then the Golden Globes is the showier, vivacious, and more freewheeling cousin. That energy translates to its red-carpet style, and today’s 2024 ceremony – the first major award show since the SAG/AFTRA strike that brought film and TV production to a standstill last year – saw celebrities in dazzling, shocking and surprising garb that befitted the enfant terrible of award shows.
One of the evening’s most outré looks came from Natasha Lyonne, whose pointed-bustline Schiaparelli dress brought a surrealist edge to ball-gown beauty and resembled a work of art on the red carpet. Rosamund Pike, the British actress and star of Emerald Fennell’s provocative thriller Saltburn, pulled a lace number from Christian Dior’s gothic autumn/winter ’19/’20 haute couture collection, accentuated with a spookish black veil.
Many argued American actress and model Hunter Schafer was the belle of the ball, in a soft-pink draped Prada dress with gauzy fabric that flowed in the California breeze. The rare, covetable nature of this ensemble is worth outlining; Prada’s diaphanous-cape dresses were one of the most popular silhouettes of the spring/summer 2024 runway season, and Schafer didn’t just get to wear one, but had a custom piece made into a one-off garment. (Being one of the favourite muses of Prada designer Raf Simons definitely helped her case.)
The Past Lives actor Greta Lee – one of our style stars to watch for 2024 – was equally ethereal in a silk Loewe gown that was hooked by metal clasps that draped over her shoulders.
But for every outlandish or experimental look, there was an ensemble that encapsulated the grace and glamour of classic Hollywood. Take Elle Fanning’s vintage Pierre Balmain dress, accentuated with Cartier jewellery, with a waistline and bow-detail that made it reminiscent of Parisian couture salons in the 1950s. Julianne Moore – an award season contender for her role in May December – was spellbinding in custom Bottega Veneta red with a similar evening silhouette, while co-star Natalie Portman took an equally graceful turn in Christian Dior, adorned with thousands of small coloured flowers that recalled the beauty of an Impressionist painting.
Elizabeth Debicki, star of The Crown, chose a gladiatorial chain-link metal dress, also by Christian Dior, a favourite label of her on-screen character, Princess Diana. Angela Bassett took a risqué turn in all-black Dolce & Gabbana, which encapsulated the Sicilian glamour the brand is known for.
Like their female counterparts, the gentlemen in attendance approached formal attire with boldness and pizzazz and donned standout jewellery to match. In a red Louis Vuitton suit, Saltburn’s Barry Keoghan was one of the most experimentally dressed, with gold accoutrements that tied in perfectly with his Omega watch. Fellow Irishman Andrew Scott, known for Sherlock and Fleabag, donned cream Valentino with a singlet underneath and white boots. Call it white tie, California style.
The Golden Globes may be the misbehaved sibling of the Oscars, but that often means the fashion on offer is a lot more fun.