The Dally M v Brownlow red carpets: ‘This is about the players’

The NRL Dally M Medal ceremony in Sydney has finally outgrown its reputation as the bridesmaid to the bridal looks and occasional honeymoon attire seen on the AFL Brownlow red carpet in Melbourne.

In a George Taleb Couture gown drawing inspiration from Cher and her costume-maker and drag queen favourite Bob Mackie, NRLW Sydney Roosters captain Isabelle Kelly was not looking for a church aisle to march down.

“I have been working as a stylist on the Dally Ms for seven years, and they keep getting bigger and better,” says Kelly’s stylist Livia Sharp. “They look different to the Brownlow because their [Brownlow] red carpet is more about the player’s partners. We are putting the spotlight on the players. It’s their big night.”

With NRLW and NRL players sharing the red carpet, wives and girlfriends of the NRL players are no longer required for the heavy lifting of lacquered up-dos and sequinned gowns.

“Each year the players are becoming more comfortable leaning into glamour,” Sharp says. “When Kelly wore a pink dress with matching gloves last year, she received a lot of attention, and that gave her the confidence to go further this time.

“There’s a myth that the NRLW players don’t enjoy getting dressed up, but they do. You can enjoy sport and fashion.”

There’s also a significant difference between the way AFL and NRL players dress that is most noticeable on the size tag on the Politix suits of Melbourne Storm captain Harry Grant, or of Will Warbrick and Eli Katoa.

“With the AFL boys you can pull looks straight from the rack, with many of them having that athletic model build,” says stylist Donny Galella. “The NRL lads are bigger up top and have serious quad muscles. There’s a lot of going up in a suit size, in on a trouser size and adjustments.”

Former player Cooper Johns, the son of Matty Johns, found the perfect fit in a striped jacket that was the perfect match for Craig Bellamy’s controversial attire at the ceremony in 2019.

Galella used reverse psychology to select Laura Aubusson’s red halter-neck dress from Sydney designer Mariam Seddiq. “I figured that there would be a lot of shine and a lot of leg, so we went in the opposite direction. Elegance is always a good idea.” Laura’s husband and Roosters new rugby league director, Mitch Aubusson, stuck to the black tie brief in a Van Heusen suit.

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