With each award show, a slew of red carpet trends emerge into the universe. Sometimes it's a colour, other times a specific silhouette. And while there’s always a strong presence of black in the line-up of looks, this year’s Golden Globes were dominated by a bizarrely vast array of dresses in everyone’s favourite non-colour. Though I expected style classicists like Julia Roberts, Selena Gomez, Mia Goth and Erin Doherty to take this route, it was surprising to see many actors known for their bold looks opt for demure black dresses. Expectedly, most of the men chose classic black and white tuxes. But it’s people like Ayo Edebiri, Ariana Grande and Miley Cyrus, who often push the boundaries of what red carpet dressing looks like, that are shocked with the safety of their choices. To borrow a symbol of one of this season’s award contenders, they too decided to go down a black brick road.
You might think, black dresses – what’s the big deal? Well, the Golden Globes have historically been known as the party-going, wild child-like young sibling of the award show circuit. Instead of being voted by industry figures, they are awarded by international journalists unified as the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), which makes the Globes a bit of an outsiders’ event. Instead of rows of theatre seating, like at the Emmys and Oscars, attendees are grouped at tables, which notoriously offer little food and lots of free-flowing alcohol. Unsurprisingly, this setup has made for some pretty memorable moments, like Emma Thompson stumbling onto the stage to present an award with her Louboutins in one hand and a martini in the other. But times have changed since 2014, and the Golden Globes are currently hitting the peak of their mild era.
In 2021, the HFPA faced controversy over corruption allegations and a clear lack of diversity among its members. This also led to a mass boycott of the 2022 ceremony, which had no celebrity presenters or a red carpet. And while the past couple of years felt like the image was starting to rebuild for the Golden Globes, in part thanks to comedian Nikki Glazer doing a stunning job as the host, it seems like the award show still has a long way to go when it comes to reaching its – pun intended – golden years. At this year’s ceremony, many celebrities wore badges that said ‘Be Good’, in solidarity with Renee Macklin Good, who was killed by an ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agent in Minneapolis last week.
While several of them, including Natasha Lyonne and Jean Smart, discussed the exact message behind the pins on the red carpet, any mention of political tension was totally absent on the stage. Instead, the winners thanked the usual – family, agent and God. The closest we came to hearing about #BeGood was in Smart’s winning speech, but all we got was a semi-abstract: “Do the right thing.” It was a far cry from Meryl Streep’s call to rebellion in 2017, when she called President Trump a bully.
So if people are being told to be quiet, perhaps it’s not that surprising to see blandness being represented in the wardrobe department, too. During difficult times of war, political tension and financial crises, perhaps toning it down was the way to go? And don't get me wrong, choosing a black dress doesn't necessarily mean you can't make a bold fashion statement. Through all the darkness, there were still a few celebs who did their big one and successfully pulled a major look.
Despite the choice of black fabric, Teyana Taylor picked up her trophy for Best Supporting Actress in a custom Schiaparelli gown that stood out from her peers'. Always the one to show off her insane body goals, Teyana’s gown swirled around her waist, with a crystalised bow thong detail poking out in the back. In fact, crystal was the second-biggest theme on the red carpet, with Kate Hudson, Dakota Fanning and Renate Reinsve all stunned while dripping in reflective beads. While their bodycon silhouettes were pretty simple, the choice of embellishment took things to the next level. The most out-there choices were courtesy of Hamnet’s Jessie Buckley and The Hunting Wives’ Britanny Snow, both of whom chose voluminous silhouettes that felt out of the usual vernacular of long trains and mermaid gowns.
All in all, this year’s Golden Globes red carpet didn’t give us any terrible or even controversial looks. But that also meant there weren’t (m)any iconic looks on the carpet, either. No signs of Whoopi Goldberg’s yellow tracksuit with matching leg warmers and a white suit jacket (1986), Lady Gaga’s periwinkle couture Valentino gown (2019) or Julia Roberts’ oversized Giorgio Armani men’s suit (1990).
While I understand that the frivolity of awards show entertainment is hardly a point of contention with everything else going on in the world, it’s disappointing to see an entity that once had major cultural has now become a minimal-effort affair. Who knew I would be yearning for the days of Ariana Grande arriving in full Glinda drag? But I’m still hopeful as it’s far too early to write the whole award season off, so let's grab a bolt of pink fabric and bring on the BAFTAs, NAACPs, SAGs and Oscars!
We wish we could give awards for these red carpet hair, makeup, and nail moments.
