When award season rolls around every year, the fight is on to stand out from the sea of glamour. But to kick off this awards season it was in everyone’s interest to look similar. More specifically, to wear one colour: Black.
This awards season kicked off with the Golden Globes and one big statement. Following the string of sexual harassment allegations in Hollywood over the past year, January’s Globes became the epicentre of the MeToo and TimesUp movement.
While there had been rumblings about whether or not the industry would recognise the epidemic of harassment by starting a movement, TimesUp came with a bang with almost every celebrity and non celeb alike wearing black to the red carpet.
Following a slew of stories about sexual harassment in Hollywood against Harvey Weinstein, James Franco and Matt Lauer to name a few, the hashtag MeToo spread like wildfire all over the internet. After highlighting the thousands of women who had been sexually harassed in the workplace, it seemed that standing in fashion solidarity was the next step in highlighting this systemic harassment across all workplaces.
TimesUp is a movement signed by over 300 women in Hollywood such as Reese Witherspoon, Emma Stone, Brie Larson and Natalie Portman, all of which are heavy hitters in the style stakes. Actress Eva Longoria explained the meaning behind the fashion choice: “For years, we’ve sold these awards shows as women, with our gowns and colours and our beautiful faces and our glamour. This time the industry can’t expect us to go up and twirl around. That’s not what this moment is about.”
But it wasn’t just a fashion statement for the women. The men of Hollywood donned black suits for the Globes along with this seasons biggest accessory, the TimesUp pins which are likely to show up at a lot of award shows.
Because of the one colour dominating the award show, strength distinguished the looks of the night. The use of black strongly pushed clean tailoring to the forefront of the looks, for the men and women. Standing in solidarity with the strong woman images, suits were a big statement trend for the Globes and a foreshadowing for awards shows to come. The Crown’s Claire Foy went all out in a full black Stella McCartney suit.
Wonder Woman herself, Gal Gadot, also opted for the menswear look, wearing a short tuxedo jacket over her Tom Ford dress. Every red carpet we not only look to see what is being worn but who is wearing them. Eyes are firmly fixed on the style of this year’s nominees such as Margot Robbie, Saoirse Ronan, and cast members of Big Little Lies and Stranger Things.
After the united fashion statement of the Globes, the real trends of the season started to emerge at the Critics’ Choice Awards and the Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAGs). From the two awards shows, it’s clear that colour is back with a bang and sparkle is all the rage. Whether is is form fitting sequins or flowing glitter slips, celebs such as Nicole Kidman, Mandy Moore, Susan Sarandon and Lupita Nyongo all lit up the awards.
In terms of colour, baby pink and pale nudes are making appearance, with best actress nominee Saoirse Ronan wearing shades to both Critics Choice and SAG awards. In an homage to this years hit movie Wonder Woman, capes are giving power to women on the carpet. Tracee Ellis Ross and Laura Linney both served strong looks at the SAGS with cape draping attached to their dresses.
Men also brought colour to the red carpet after the Golden Globes. Alexander Skarsgård was a winner on and off stage at the SAGs in his midnight blue Hugo Boss suit. Velvet made a big appearance for the men at the Critics Choice with stars such as Milo Ventimiglia, Armie Hammer and Joe Jonas wearing the fabric.
The Grammy’s red carpet has always been known to provide extreme looks. From J Lo’s plunging green dress to Lady Gaga in just about anything she has worn, this award show is not for the faint-hearted. So an all-black statement was realistically never going to happen for this type of show.
However, the award show did acknowledge the TimesUp movement through style. The stars came out in extravagant gowns, Lady Gaga in black jewelled body dress and Cardi B in a white butterfly gown. But the accessory of the show was a white rose. Like TimesUp, women in the music industry gathered to create their own movement honouring sexual harassment survivors called Voices in Entertainment.
The use of the white rose for the movement ‘historically stands for hope, peace, sympathy and resistance,’ according to the Huffington Post. While the use of the rose wasn’t as powerful as the Globes ‘blackout’, many stars wore it in solidarity. Staying with the white theme, Kesha performed her nominated song ‘Praying’ about her sexual harassment. Stars such as Cyndi Lauper and Camila Cabello were also in head to toe white suits and jumpsuits.
This awards season kicked off like no other in terms of style and substance. It appears that this season fashion is going to reflect the current climate. From bold sparkly numbers, to strong whites and fitted suits this awards season is about making women feel the best they can.
Helen O’Neill
Image Credit: Megan Hannah
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