FROM MODEST TO MANNISH: WHO KNEW DRESSING IN BLACK COULD BE SO TRICKY, BY BETHAN HOLT
When in doubt, wear black. So goes one of the oldest style adages of them all. But for Hollywood’s Golden Globes-attending women, what should have been one of the simplest dress codes of them all turned out to be more complex than anyone could have imagined.
They were protesting against sexual harassment with their sombre (but also very chic) choice of hue, yet confusion reigned as to what the exact messaging of the fashion blackout was meant to be.
“This is a moment of solidarity, not a fashion moment,” Eva Longoria had insisted earlier in the week. Meanwhile, on the red carpet, Catherine Zeta-jones declared: “The dress code didn’t say anything about not looking our best.”
Clearly, opinion was so divided on what being “best-dressed” or “worstdressed” actually meant in this post-weinstein era that everyone got it right and everyone got it wrong. In one corner, we had the modesty crew, whose choices chimed with the recent catwalk trend for demure dressing. Alicia Vikander opted for beaded Victoriana gown by Louis Vuitton – buttoned right up to the neck at the front but with a slash at the back. While some saw this as them kowtowing to the idea that women should cover up to avoid sexual harassment, others applauded them for striking the right note.
Then, there were the tuxedos. Despite years of women looking fabulous in tailoring, wearing a suit still says “dressing like a man”. Claire Foy and Susan Sarandon were sleekly polished in Stella Mccartney and Saint Laurent, respectively. But does appropriating the uniform of the patriarchy play well when you are protesting the behaviour of (some) men? Gah!
Finally, there were the women who did black, but, from Kate Hudson’s navel-grazing, knickerflashing Valentino to Zeta-jones in tulle Zuhair Murad, this was skinbaring glamour, as if it were any other red carpet.
As worthwhile as the actresses’ protest dressing may have been, whether it was a suit, sheer mini, or black dress abstainer ( just three in total), everyone still had something to say about what did become a Hollywood fashion moment.