Sunny forecast on the celebrity style front this week, with shades of lemon, canary, daffodil and buttercream, and an upbeat mood across the board; red carpets were awash with vibrant colours and crisp checks.
It was bright and busy in fact, with the SAG, NAACP and Billboard Women in Music Awards, Paris Fashion Week, and plenty of other promotional and press events for famous faces, there were a lot of looks on show this week. Here are the ones that stood out.
Angela Bassett (above)
Award season is in full swing, and the 29th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards were held in L.A. this week. Perhaps it’s the California weather, or the need for some optimism, but there was a rash of yellow gowns on the red carpet, including Michelle Yeoh and Claire Foy (more on them later) and Viola Davis. The most sensational dose of sunshine came from Angela Bassett, styled by Jennifer Austin, in this burst of tulle from Giambattista Valli’s autumn-winter 2022 couture collection. The actor wears yellow frequently — the colour really works for her — and here it’s paired very nicely with De Beers jewellery and a very fun shell clutch by Judith Leiber.
Zendaya
There’s perhaps no better duo when it comes to red carpet dressing than Zendaya and super-stylist Law Roach, and they had a prolific week, turning out four different looks across two events — all in satin (I appreciate the running theme, and the old-Hollywood glamour of this fabric). Of all of them, this striking vintage dress at the 54th NAACP Image Awards in California was my favourite. It’s Atelier Versace’s spring-summer 2002 (worn on the runway by Karolina Kurkova) and the lime green is fantastic. Paired with Bulgari jewellery, I’m glad they eschewed a necklace given the sculptural bodice of the dress, and the large earrings look great with Zendaya’s shapely bob. Bonus points for her second look of the evening, which was vintage too; a Prada two-piece from spring-summer 1993.
Jennifer Coolidge
Coolidge is always a delight, but it was a real highlight of the week to see her looking absolutely stunning in this crepe Saint Laurent gown designed by Anthony Vaccarello. The cut of this looks great on her, particularly the gathering around the bodice and hips, and the effect is a fusion of glamour and coquettishness — enhanced by the 1960s-inspired hair, great headband (an excellent touch) and brilliant makeup. Brilliant too, as we all know, was the actor’s performance as Tanya McQuoid in HBO’s The White Lotus, which earned her the Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor Award for her second-season turn, and she and the cast also received Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. Bravo.
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Pedro Pascal
Yes, two weeks in a row of good looks from the Chilean actor, so I’ll keep it brief (though I urge you to keep tabs on his wardrobe and work). Pascal’s latest outing, a screening of the latter at The Roosevelt Hotel in L.A., styled once again by Julia Ragolia, is head to toe Gucci: a delicious palate of colours, mustard, butter yellow — a silk shirt from the brand’s Ha Ha Ha capsule with Harry Styles — and mouse grey flares. The glasses are by Andy Wolf.
Ayo Edebiri
The first of several chequered ensembles we liked this week, actor Ayo Edebiri (whose performance in The Bear was excellent, as is the show) attended the SAG awards in this dynamic gown from London-based New Zealand designer Emilia Wickstead’s autumn-winter 2022 collection. I loved this on the runway, and love it even more here — the painterly print, almost like someone’s taken to satin with a vivid, rendered in blue and brown is just brilliant, and enhanced by the satin finish and simple cut.
Riley Keough
Great coat on Riley Keough in Manhattan this week, and going all in on shades of butter is luxurious indeed (and looks great on redheads). The actor is promoting her new miniseries Daisy Jones & The Six.
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Will Sharpe
Red carpet menswear often leans toward the traditional or the eccentric, but The White Lotus actor Will Sharpe shows how you can do something unique and elegant. Styled by Rose Ford, he’s wearing a custom look from Ferragamo — they’ve been building a nice relationship with creative director Maximilian Davis — and it’s beautiful indeed, with a collarless nip-waisted jacket (nice to see that shape on men too) with a vibrant red shirt that has a lovely neckline.
Princess of Wales
A similar shade of red was chosen by Catherine, Princess of Wales, this week. Not only does this double-breasted Alexander McQueen number look great on her (she has a few red coats in her rotation) but it also has meaning. Nodding to the red Welsh dragon, it’s a fitting choice for a visit to the Welsh Guards for St David’s Day, the country’s national day, and Kate took it a step further with her accessories wearing a leek-shaped broach, a symbolic vegetable of Wales that is eaten on this particular holiday. I like it when the Royal family uses fashion to be symbolic, as their wardrobes have famously regimented parameters and protocols, so references really take some strategy and significance.
Michelle Yeoh
More yellow, this time on the stellar Michelle Yeoh, who made history as the first Asian actor to win the Best Actress Award at the SAGs for her performance in A24′s Everything Everywhere All at Once. For her monumental win, she wore a captivating haute couture gown by Schiaparelli, and accessorised with two much-deserved statuettes and, in a unique and cool touch, a large watch.
Harvey Guillen
This bright, colourful ensemble on Harvey Guillen was a great choice for The Queerties 2023 Awards in L.A. this week, where the actor was nominated for Best TV Performance for What We Do in the Shadows. The show is a hilarious adaptation of Taika Waititi’s 2014 film of the same name, and Guillen is excellent. Also excellent: those patent pink, metal-tipped boots.
Amanda Seyfried
Like Coolidge, Seyfried went with a 1960s vibe for the SAG Awards, wearing custom Prada. The grassy satin is very lush, verdant even, and stylist Elizabeth Stewart has paired it with jewellery by Cartier. The result is retro (an aesthetic that suits the actor well) without feeling costume-y, and the youthful ponytail actually really works here — along with the train, the view from the back is worth a look too.
Michael B. Jordan
I love this electric shade of Yves Klein blue on Michael B. Jordan, who received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame wearing a Versace suit — although I’d like to see him in a looser pant. The white T-shirt was a great choice.
Maya Hawke
Celebrities attending fashion shows often look overly put together. Not Maya Hawke, seen here heading to Prada’s Milan Fashion Week show. Though she’s wearing the brand (a great gingham shirt from the men’s range) she still looks decidedly herself. She also makes a great case for sheer hosiery, not that we need one.
Viola Davis
Violet for Viola! This sunray-pleated halterneck gown is custom Dior, styled by Elizabeth Stewart, and the regal look (paired with De Beers jewellery) is fitting for The Woman King actor’s latest win; she took home the Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture Award at the NAACP awards, after being snubbed in the Oscar nominations.
James Marsden
A handsome, campy, Hollywood look from James Marsden in a blue suit and delightfully floppy bow tie. Fun! Although, again, a looser leg wouldn’t go amiss here. This SAG Awards look is by Dolce & Gabbana.
Naomi Watanabe
More fun checks at fashion week with this head-to-toe red and white gingham on comedian, actress, designer and podcaster Naomi Watanabe, who’s at the Acne Studios show at Paris Fashion Week. Love the capri pants.
Claire Foy
Also wearing Prada this week, and yellow was Claire Foy. This shade has an ever so slight murkiness to it (which I like) that is rendered so nicely in the lustre of the fabric, and the unfussy cut of this dress is a great foil to the colour and sheen.
Jourdan Dunn
Model Jourdan Dunn loves purple, wearing the hue on many occasions. For the Paco Rabanne show at Paris Fashion Week, she went all-in on violet — also a colour of the label, and the name of its famous fragrance — and the look is very millennium-futuristic, from the grommets of the jacket (from the spring-summer 2023 collection) to the PVC top and a bag showcasing the brand’s signature metalwork.
Lana Del Rey
It’s a pleasure to be seeing more of Lana Del Rey lately, as she gears up for the release of her new album Did You Know There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd (out on March 24). She was also honoured with the Visionary Award at the 2023 Billboard Women in Music Awards this week, and wore a very sweet yellow Zimmermann number to mark the occasion — a frothy lace dress that is fitting of the singer’s definitive style, and nods to much of the symbology she incorporates in her image and music. Great shoes.
Jessica Chastain
A glamorous finale to our vibrant lineup this week is Jessica Chastain, wearing this fabulous fuchsia taffeta dress by Lebanese designer Zuhair Murad, from his spring-summer 2023 ready-to-wear collection. It’s lush, romantic and styled by Elizabeth Stewart — her work has featured a few times in this week’s story, and she also counts Cate Blanchette as a client — and is fit for a winner, with Chastain taking home Outstanding Performance for her portrayal of country singer Tammy Wynette, her second screen turn as a Tammy in fact, following The Eyes of Tammy Faye in 2021.
