NEW YORK — With lots of easy breezy makeup, minimal jewelry and loose hair, the Golden Globes opened the awards season with a red carpet chock-full of sparkly metallics, bright whites and dramatic reds. Among those lauded by fashion pros Sunday night at the Beverly Hills, California, awards night was Julianne Moore as she led a parade of silver in custom Givenchy Haute Couture by Riccardo Tisci. Her sequins faded to black and a cascade of feathers at the bottom.
"For me she was it. She looked amazing, but the metallic trend was debated all over social media. A lot of people see it as very flashy but I think it looks great because it's just a new, totally different texture and something that's more interesting than just the same old strapless gowns," said Eric Wilson, fashion news director for InStyle magazine.
Style and beauty expert Mary Alice Stephenson agreed, adding Emma Stone's sparkly silver-and-black Lanvin jumpsuit to her top five. It had a big floor-length sash at the waist, after all.
"Emma Stone broke a lot of rules and that's what Golden Globes fashion is about. It was this great respite from all the boring gowns. And her hair was down. It was superglamorous and a little bit edgy," she said.
Extending last year's red trend was standout Viola Davis in Donna Karan Atelier. Her sisters in sultry red included Allison Williams, Lena Dunham and Helen Mirren.
And there was plenty for us to love or hate, including a daring white Vera Wang Collection gown for "Gone Girl" co-star Rosamund Pike. She showed off midriff cutouts, a strappy barely there back and plunging neckline soon after giving birth.
The look was criticized by some as ill-fitting at the top but lauded by Aya Kanai, executive fashion director of Cosmopolitan and Seventeen, as "white hot and sexy." A chartreuse Gucci column gown worn by Naomi Watts with a knockout diamond Bulgari Serpenti necklace was a questionable color to others while she was lauded as a vision by Joyann King, editor of HarpersBazaar.com.
"I love how she took the classic Old Hollywood glamour equation — memorable hue, over-the-top jewels, red lip and Veronica Lake curls — and made it completely relevant on today's modern carpet," King said.
Ruth Wilson of "The Affair" stood alone in green, an edgy form-fitting Prada with a high neck and black-and-turquoise detailing. Other highs and lows:
Jessica Chastian: The "A Most Violent Year" actress said it best of her ultra-shiny, plunging Atelier Versace: "My movie is about heating oil. It's like an oil slick so I was, like, it's perfect."
Amal Clooney: The awards season debut of George's bride was much anticipated. Her long, baggy white gloves with a black Dior Haute Couture one-shoulder gown and long Harry Winston earrings had lots of fingers tweeting.
"To glove or not to glove," laughed Stephenson. "It was a big moment. People had high expectations for what she was going to wear. I think the gloves were ill-fitting. Her hair was down and she had that train coming off the Dior dress and the long earrings. It could have been a modern Audrey Hepburn moment but it wasn't."
Uzo Adbua: Crazy eyes was, in a word, awesome. The "Orange Is the New Black" co-star rarely disappoints on the red carpet. This time around she wore a halter-style beaded gun metal design by Randi Rahm with ruby touches and a crystal-embellished neckline.
"She just looked hot! Her hair looked great smoothed back," Kanai said.
Keira Knightly: She did not get the let's-flaunt-our-baby-bumps memo, showing up pregnant in a pale blue Chanel with a bib neck, tiers of ruffles at the bottom and appliques of butterflies and feathers.
"That was not a best-dressed baby bump," Stephenson said. "It was a little too "Little House on the Prairie."
Kanai demurred: "She was conservative and pretty for an expecting mother. She looked like she might have stepped out of a Jane Austen novel — in a good way!"
Kerry Washington: Usually solidly on point, she wore an of-the-moment midi length design by Mary Katrantzou. It was off-the-shoulder with pink and purple panels that were "too competitive with each other," King said. "A monochromatic color choice would have been better."
Stephenson agreed. "It was a little too pristine and buttoned up. She did not look comfortable." — AP
