As long as it’s black: Golden Globes red carpet goes dark

The 75th annual Golden Globe Awards took place in Beverly Hills on Sunday night, kicking off 2018's red carpet season. With a crowded carpet that celebrates the great and good of film and TV, the Globes usually provides an indicator as to who may be the big award winners over the next couple of months, as well as a chance to bring a dose of glamour to the early days of January. Being the first date of awards on the Hollywood calendar, the gowns often garner just as many headlines than the awards themselves.

Also, as the first official red award show of the year, it often sets the tone for red carpets to come. But 2018’s ceremony was a major contrast to last year’s red carpet where bold prints, low-cut necklines and yellow were at the sartorial fore. The 2018 Globes, in fact, was a more decidedly monochromatic affair, quite literally, with actors using their attire to support the Time’s Up initiative by making a sartorial statement that highlights the sexual harassment and gender inequality in Hollywood and other spheres.

Forget about frothy escapism or fail-safe bright hues, the Globes red carpet had a dark veil thrown over it as actors turned couture gowns from Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Armani into visually striking political action. There was a distinct lack of pastel colours, and punctuating colour - the look was less "Hollywood Glamour", more "Hollywood blackout". But there was still dramatic and daring silhouettes, Issa Rae wore a liquid metallic cape dress by Prabal Gurung, a silhouette that Dakota Johnson in Gucci and Diane Kruger in Prada followed.

Sleek and minimal styling doesn't normally dominate the Globes carpet but it punctuated it tonight; embodying this style was Saoirse Ronan in a futuristic one shoulder dress with silver embellishment and newly dyed icy-blonde locks that showed off her exquisite pallor to perfection.

Last year I wrote about the best things about being home. I was totally naive

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Outstanding jurist and advocate of social and political change

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'Wearing the pants'

Actor Alison Brie wore a spilt-skirt jumpsuit, saying that the night was about women "wearing the pants, so I chose to literally wear the pants." Debra Messing chose a mullet shift and trousers, while Claire Foy ditched a regal gown to demonstrate the suit approach to the blackout red carpet. Nodding to the tux trend was Wonderwoman actress Gal Gadot in a cropped jacket over a ruched dress, Eva Longoria in a fitted tuxedo gown and Meryl Streep in suiting detail off-the-shoulder Vera Wang gown.

Red carpet stalwarts of lace and tulle still remained strong with Jessica Biel wearing a swirly tulle gown by Dior and Penelope Cruz, Halle Berry, Emma Stone, and Nicole Kidman, opting for an array of the romantic fabric. Continuing the texture trend, velvet was a popular choice for Viola Davis in Brandon Maxwell, Zoe Kravitz and Jessica Chastain in Armani Prive, proving how adaptable it is to a myriad of silhouettes. Bringing full-skirted drama was Sarah Jessica Parker, reality TV star and model Kendall Jenner in Giambattista Valli, echoing this look was Heidi Klum in a high-low style complete with feather trim.

And it wouldn’t be a red carpet with a lashing of sparkles as celebrities added interested to the all-black dress code with embellishment. Kerry Washington chose a strapless style by Prabal Gurung and she wasn’t alone in sporting show-stopping sequins. Maggie Gyllenhaal picked a shimmering top and trouser style, while Isabelle Huppert also shimmered.

But colour wasn’t entirely absent, celebrities wore black with other colours as highlights through accessories and make-up including Mandy Moore who wore a charcoal halter neck gown with a red sash that matched her classic Hollywood red lipstick. Get Out actor Allison Williams and Orange is the New Black actor Samira Wiley added a splash of colour through design details on their all-black ensembles. Emeralds were the jewellery choice of the night for many with Zoe Kravitz, Catherine Zeta Jones and Debra Messing, all choosing the glittering gem.