Volunteer writer Rebecca Pearson takes us back to the Golden Globes at the beginning of March and reminisces on the fashion showcased by those in attendance of the 78th year of the iconic awards ceremony.
The term ‘virtual red carpet’ springs to mind for this year’s Golden Globes – a term which entirely sums up the past year of everything from virtual events to virtual socialising. Even so, the 2021 Golden Globes outfits did not refrain from showcasing both the experimental designs and classical glamour that have prevailed as unspoken features of award show red carpets.
Some virtual attendees chose to play with a striking visual form. The Crown’s actress Emma Corrin wore Miu Miu – a simple-cut black velvet dress, full of evenly spaced-out small crystals which have even been considered a social-distancing reference. The shape of the dress moved up into unique puffy shoulder-pads and ruffles around the neckline. The latter gave the dress a clown-like feel, aligning with the inspiration of the dress, which her stylist, Harry Lambert, says was a reference to Pierrot the Clown. Fellow actor from The Crown, Josh O’Connor, also played with tradition, wearing a Loewe black and white suit – a nod to old-school British tailoring. His look both subverted and conformed to the traditional notion of a suit, giving Oscar Wilde vibes, as well as altering the classically tailored cut.
Bridgerton’s Nicola Coughlin also successfully pulled off a risk-taking form, wearing a yellow poofy dress by Molly Goddard. The light and airy dress was beautifully reminiscent of the show’s extravagant ball gowns, and was also offset by a black cardigan by Ply-Knits which added restraint to the bold outfit.
I think one of the most relatable outfit choices of the night was John Boyega’s rocky combo of Balenciaga and joggers. Commenting that he didn’t expect to have the camera on him, he was humbly caught off-guard, revealing his comfortable choice of clothing for the evening. His tracksuit bottoms, in particular, sum up the whole mood of lockdown, opting for comfort when in the comfort of your own home.
There were, of course, other more classical takes on the virtual reality of the Globes this year. Amanda Seyfried wore a simple pink Oscar de la Renta gown – a backless dress that featured carefully set flower-ruffles. That the dress was only seen from the back perhaps speaks of the limitations of a digital version of the Globes. Anya Taylor Joy similarly followed on with a custom Christian Dior haute couture dress in dark green – a majestic look which even featured a cape that pulled its lines and cuts together beautifully.
However, I think the stand-out dresses came from both Cynthia Erivo and Viola Davis. Neither stayed away from flamboyant designs. Cynthia Erivo wore a Valentino haute couture dress from the Spring/Summer 2021 collection – a collection which has only recently returned to its typical bold colour palette having used only white hues in his earlier collection which came out just after COVID-19 first consumed the world and muddled normality. The vibrant neon-green dress was a Buffon ball gown, subtly depictive of the lengths and complexities of creating new haute couture pieces. Viola Davis’ look was similarly impressive, wearing a Lavie by CK dress which was covered by takes on traditional African wax-prints. The dress truly captured the intricacies and technical skills required by wax-print makers to form such remarkable patterns.
I think it’s fair to comment that none of the Golden Globes outfits this year were underwhelming. Some spoke of the realities of lockdown and forging home-comforts, whilst others attempted to portray strong silhouettes which retained their strength when conveyed digitally.
Header by Label designer Annabel Smith
