The red carpet white-out
Charlie Gowans-eglinton explains why the colour of empowerment is hard to get right
In a post-time’s Up and Metoo world, the red carpet is a confused and confusing place for an actor. The 2018 Golden Globes offered a relaxing rigidity: everyone wear black, sending a unified statement of intent. But since then, red-carpet dressing has become a minefield: is your frock sustainably made? Are you being paid to wear it (and have you hashtagged #spon)? Is the designer donating money to a worthy cause via the new Red Carpet Advocacy initiative?
For many, the 2019 awards season has been back to business – and this is business, with actors paid multimillions for brand ambassadorships. Being paid to wear a princess gown doesn’t seem very “woke”, but without a definitive dress code what’s an A-list stylist to do? At Sunday night’s Baftas, a solution emerged: as host Joanna Lumley put it, “we are so wearing white tonight”.
At the State of the Union address in Washington last week, Democrat congresswomen coordinated “suffragette white” outfits – and while you could have argued that worrying about your wardrobe is a waste of brainpower for these big political minds, the visual statement of solidarity that they made went viral. What better way to send a message of women for women?
So much so that even the Duchess of Cambridge, who must be careful not to push a political agenda, donned a white gown at the Baftas nodding to this visual trend. And as mood setter it worked wonders.
While 2018’s all-black red carpet looked sombre, a red carpet white-out felt more triumphant. As most of the men on the red carpet wear black suits as a matter of course, white also had the effect of making the women stand out even more.
But here’s the rub: it’s also the hardest colour for a woman to wear. White is the great fashion paradox. It’s the colour of empowerment – and yet it hobbles us. White can make you feel self-conscious, overly worried about carrying it off (black is so much more flattering) and paranoid about spoiling the effect by avoiding any canapés/lipstick/red wine/physical contact which comes your way.
So to get white right, first, look for tailored silhouettes and trousers cropped at the ankle: Letitia Wright’s Stella Mccartney and Mary J Blige’s Ralph & Russo suits looked sharp and impactful, and tailoring will stay cleaner than any dress that’s floating on the ground – I imagine the Duchess of Cambridge’s dry cleaner has had better Mondays.
Next, avoid high necklines if you plan to wear foundation or lipstick – and skip fake tan or bronzer altogether. Avoid bridal hair – tousled waves, up-dos – lest someone starts humming the wedding march.
And if in doubt, try adding a dose of black.
Olivia Colman and Viola Davis brilliantly hedged their bets in monochrome, and the contrast will make whites look even whiter: the sartorial equivalent of a scoop of Vanish in your wash.