Awards season is off and running, and if the Golden Globes are to function as a sartorial weathervane of what's to come, expect a lot of white, oxblood, and nude in the coming months. Also, safety. While the red carpet last night at the Beverly Hilton was chock-full of all things pretty and streamlined, it ultimately read as tempered — there weren't many missteps, yet neither were there all-stars. Here, ARTINFO brings you a rundown of the great, the good, the OK, and the bad.
Michelle Dockery of Downton Abbey fame was a clear standout. Lady Mary looked downright incredible in an Alexandre Vauthier gown, hitting all the right trends in tandem with high-wattage glamour. The dress featured a gold chain-mail baroque top, akin to armor, with delicate shoulder pads and a nude interlay between the flourishes. From there, the white silken body of the gown hit Dockery at all the right places, highlighting her knockout figure. Hair and makeup were kept to a minimum, so as not to detract from the Paris designer's showstopper of a dress. Claire Danes looked ravishing in Versace red, and thin, considering the recent birth of her son. Hers was an example of simplicity and minimalism done to extraordinary effect.
Jennifer Lawrence gets our nod in the good category. While her vermillion Dior Couture gown was a bit…let's say misshapen in places, the winning actress looked radiant as she accepted her Globe for "Silver Linings Playbook." Contextually stunning, indeed, though not quite enough to thaw the ice regarding our opinion of Raf Simons' work at the house overall. Amanda Seyfried also looked beautiful in a white-lace Givenchy Couture dress, but somehow without the wow factor generally imbued in Riccardo Tisci's designs at the French house.
Olivia Munn clocked in last night at just OK, wearing a Giorgio Armani spring '13 dress featuring a shimmering, zig-zagged turquoise bustier over a simple black pencil, accented by a diamond collar and a silver satin clutch. The problem with this look is that it seemed lost somewhere in the purgatory between red-carpet and runway. It didn't translate well on either and was, therefore, a little boring. Anne Hathaway looked cute in her pixie cut and her beaded glacial-white Chanel bifurcated column, but listless at the same time, especially considering her spot-on outfit choices recently. Also, Hathaway's overzealousness on stage was a total killjoy.
Now, finally, Lena Dunham. Wearing a maroon-brown Zac Posen dress, Dunham's sartorial screen-time would've been better served if she'd picked something more form-fitting and a bit shorter in the body — perhaps cocktail length. The, let's face it, hideous grandiosity of the gown read cheap and ill-conceived. But we're going to give Lena the benefit of the doubt here (plus our congratulations as "Girls" did very well last night) because, if we're being completely frank, very little that Posen designs could be classified as Great. Lastly, Jennifer Lopez didn't really surprise anyone in her rather tacky Zuhair Murad number. Wouldn't it be nice to see J. Lo in Alexander McQueen? She'd retain her signature flair, but ditch the cheese factor.