And the class of 2023 prom king and queen goes to…Golden Globes host Jerrod Carmichael and Gucci-clad guest Julia Garner! We jest. But the first ceremony of awards season 2023 had a certain Midwest dance hall feel to it. We were a long way from Tinseltown, Toto.
Some pulled off the tropes of high school style with grade-A results. Eddie Redmayne, for example, looked fashion forward, rather than end-of-year formal, in his chocolate-brown satin-trimmed Valentino suit, complete with a bulbous corsage budding from his lapel. With a sheer crewneck instead of a shirt and pooling trouser hems, Redmayne was top of the class when it came to paring back the froth and fantasia of prom night.
Sigourney Weaver, too, looked achingly chic in a draped black Saint Laurent gown cinched with an inky posy at the chest. Full marks for the 73-year-old for following Vogue’s modern guide to corsages that come Carrie Bradshaw–approved.
Then came the quivering wave of marshmallow-colored looks, from Seth Rogen’s sugar-sweet Dior Men suit with its pastel pink bow tie and cummerbund to Elizabeth Debicki’s Barbie-dream Dior dress, featuring a sweet bow affixed to the strapless (obvs!) bodice and Garner’s sequin-dappled Gucci ruffles, which echoed the youthful frivolity of prom.
Opera gloves—the height of sophistication at 16—were present and correct, thanks to The Bear actor Ayo Edebiri’s pale blue Rosie Assoulin confection comprising a crop top (bonus points!) and color-contrasting yellow gloves, and Britt Lower’s drop-hem Bach Mai ball gown teamed with leather elbow dusters. While we expected the Old Hollywood eveningwear trend to fizzle out after a couple of years of opera chic, the hard-working accessory lived on outside the limousine-lined Beverley Hilton.
Peplums (check out Michelle Yeoh’s midnight-blue sequin Armani Privé), ’50s silhouettes (Hannah Einbinder played it cutesy in Carolina Herrera), and costume jewelry (hi, Rihanna in Cartier) also punctuated a playful red carpet that suggested Hollywood is either having a midlife crisis or just feeling very nostalgic.
The Golden Globes 2023 was always going to be a curious one, with its controversy-tainted past, but the red carpet welcomed an eclectic mix of individuals finding their fashion footing—rather, you could say, like high school itself.
This post was originally published in British