Paddington in his duffel coat, and a prince and princess putting on a brave face and black tie in the white heat of royal disgrace. Move over, movie stars: who can compete with red carpet drama like this?
Paul Mescal stepped up early with a big swing, hard-launching his relationship with Gracie Abrams with a red-carpet kiss. The frayed rolled cuffs and Henley collar of his Prada shirt gave him the air of having walked to the red carpet straight from the boards of Shakespeare’s Globe theatre. Method dressing is the new power dressing, and this could be the season of Hamnet-core: see, also, Archie Madekwe’s doublet-shaped Dior jacket and Elizabeth-adjacent sparkly ruff.
After King Charles’s surprise appearance at London fashion week on Thursday, the Prince and Princess of Wales, wine velvet tuxedo coordinating with berry-toned chiffon, stubble contrasting with silky waves, wore matching determined smiles. What constitutional crisis?
The Baftas do not take themselves quite so seriously as the Oscars. (To be fair, little takes itself quite so seriously as the Oscars.) But this is an event that can transform an actor’s career – and bank balance – and much of the action happens on the red carpet. Awards season dressing is now largely a pay-to-play branch of the entertainment industry, with actors well remunerated for moonlighting as models. It has become modish to use fashion as part of the storytelling strategy on a press tour, as done recently to great effect by Barbie and Marty Supreme. A cast who look compelling on the red carpet is now seen as an important factor in a film’s award season momentum. In other words, borrowing a sparkly dress (or tuxedo) and holding your tummy in no longer cuts it: this is an age of political peacocking.
Just as who goes home with a gong is seen as a crucial tea-leaf reading on the road to the Academy Awards, scoring a win on this red carpet matters. Best dressed of the night was Renate Reinsve, who looked alluring and unconventional, in step with both her personal brand and the vibe of Sentimental Value, in an asymmetrically slashed, ab-baring Louis Vuitton gown. Louis Vuitton makes its money from luggage and leather goods, which means the fashion is free to be avant-garde, and designer Nicolas Ghesquière leans into supporting his arthouse tastes.
The days of major fashion houses lending dresses to anyone with a nomination and the right measurements are over, with money increasingly changing hands. “Brand ambassadorships” are lucrative and sought after: a paycheck from a major luxury house might bring in enough money for an actor to take the arthouse role their heart desires, and decline the well-paid action gig. Financial details are rarely released, but an A-lister can command several million pounds per year for a contract.
The Baftas fall during London fashion week, and while most independent British fashion brands can’t compete with the superbrands, there were some red carpet wins for London. Burberry dressed Teyana Taylor, nominated for One Battle After Another, in a dramatic corseted trench and Stellan Skarsgård in a classic tux. Timothée Chalamet’s inky double-breasted suit and opulent bow-tie was by the British designer Sarah Burton for the French house of Givenchy. Kylie Jenner in jewel-studded black velvet, holding hands with Chalamet at the ceremony, surely has this season’s best wing woman gong in the bag.
This red carpet season has been spicy from a fashion perspective. Dior, Chanel and Givenchy all have new designers who see these moments as even more impactful than catwalk shows, in the drive to establish a new identity and whip up excitement. Jessie Buckley is the biggest get for any fashion house right now, so Chanel will have been thrilled to dress her – even if her rather staid blue velvet gown perhaps did not quite match the unconventional energy that makes Buckley so compelling.
The ramped-up rivalry between new creative directors has, however, had the effect of sidelining vintage. Archival looks were popular on the red carpet last year, but have been edged out by brands keen to carve out a new image. The Princess of Wales’s Gucci dress, which she first wore in 2019, was one of the few not to be boxfresh.
Designer Emilia Wickstead had a busy day, putting on a catwalk show at lunchtime and dressing presenters Aimee Lou Wood and Minnie Driver for the ceremony. Erdem, celebrating the 20th anniversary of his brand with a show at Tate Britain – a few minutes drive from the Royal Festival Hall, and just before the red carpet opened – benefited from the Bafta guest list, snagging a starry front row that included Glenn Close, Helen Mirren, Lily James and Ben Whishaw.