It didn’t help that the red carpet was actually grey. And that, like most of the UK, it was raining in Beverly Hills. And that the star-studded stars—Zendaya, Timothée Chalamet, Rihanna—we came to support at the start of awards season with their reliably frou frou glamour, didn’t really pull it off.
And it really didn’t help that the best look was actually black, though Triangle of Sadness star Dolly de Leon (in an extraordinary dress in buttery-soft black leather by Norman designer René Devery), Hacks’ Megan Stalter, (in Versace with two splits, Angelina’s leg Jolie sparkled and Natasha Lyonne (in form-fitting Givenchy, patent platforms and a copper bob) looked anything but boring.
But this year, as is often the case these days, it was up to the men to shake things up.
Call it the Chalamet effect, but gone are the penguin suits and even the ties. Influencer Josh Richards may be most famous among Gen Z, but from now on he’ll also be known as the guy who, like the actor, swapped his shirt for a see-through mesh top.
Historically, what men wear on the red carpet has always been relegated to the background of the chatter, certainly among the fray of princess gowns and big hair. Then in 2019, Chalamet wore a Louis Vuitton harness to the Golden Globes and Billy Porter wore a Christian Siriano ballgown to the Oscars, and the landscape of menswear changed forever, reflecting the narrowing gap between it and womenswear. At least on the red carpet.
However, it was Donald Glover who won the proverbial red carpet. Wearing a black cap-shoulder jacket over a pair of Saint Laurent cream silk pajamas that hemmed over his boots, the effect was heightened against the pandemic, practical – the pajamas had pockets, which at least allows you to pose – but comfortable, old meets new .
See also Andrew Garfield in a burnt orange linen suit pretending it wasn’t January; Tyler James Williams in washed cropped matador style suit by streetwear brand Amiri; Seth Rogen in a peach Dior tuxedo, complete with cumberband; Hacks’ Mark Indelicato in a 1930s style butter brocade long suit and The Banshees of Inisherin’s Barry Keoghan in a pastel blue Louis Vuitton suit, gift wrapped at the neck with a small handkerchief. Porter even donned another Siriano ball gown, this time in Pantone’s 2023 color of the year, Viva Magenta.
Social media has also always played a role, with the most successful looks becoming memes. The Instagram moment of 2023 came in the form of opera gloves. Worn by Nicole Byer in Siriano, Lyonne in Givenchy and Ayo Edebiri (are her Rosie Assoulin tan gloves downright worn out in her former role as a pot washer in The Bear?) they were an old school hit – it’s impossible to see a pair and not think about it. Audrey Hepburn, who, like Lyonne, tended to wear Givenchy – modernized by a sprinkling of fancy diamond rings worn on top.
In some cases, it was a confusing accessory (some even clipped to clothes by themselves), although given the amount of viruses in circulation, no one wore masks, probably sensible too.
Perhaps tellingly, the most eye-catching look of the night was actually neither a suit nor a gown, but a mixture of the two—complete with a single blue tear painted on her left cheek—as worn by the House of the Dragon’s. Emma D’Arcy. Blink and you’d miss the skirt you’re wearing underneath. “I wanted to look like a ‘prodigy at a grand piano recital,’ except we added a single tear to the makeup, so I think the recital went really wrong,” the actress said of her Acne Studios. suit’ before the ceremony. “I’m wearing a skirt. and pants because nothing says ‘non-binary’ like wearing pants and a skirt at the same time.”
Traditionally, what people wore on the red carpet was never what they actually wanted to wear. The star’s choice of clothes was mostly designed in collaboration with the marketing power of the big brands who paid for the privilege, with some stylists becoming as famous as the people they dress. When MeToo happened — and when we realized that the red carpet was as much about objectification as who was dating who — we expected a reset. But the Hollywood fashion industrial complex will likely never shake off its dark past. People also won’t stop wearing Dolce & Gabbana despite its history of racism and homophobia. An economy in itself, thousands of dollars pass through hands at these events. And they probably will be forever.