The Screen Actor’s Guild Awards were an Oscars warm-up, roughly predicting who will leave next week’s Academy Awards ceremony carrying a statuette. They also determined what will be worn on the red carpet.
For nearly 30 years, the SAG awards winner for best actor has gone on to win the Oscar 76 per cent of the time, with the best actress having a 72 per cent success rate. Following Sunday night’s SAGs ceremony in Los Angeles – and the application of fashion maths – it’s 99 per certain that you will see black dresses, vintage haute couture and looks wilder than Timothée Chalamet’s lime shirt at the Oscars.
At the SAGs, Apple Cider Vinegar actors Kaitlyn Dever, in an embellished strapless peach gown from Elie Saab, and Alycia Debnam-Carey, in a fitted ivory halter-neck Christian Dior gown, exuded traditional princess energy. The ultra-feminine looks were more in line with Monaco’s House of Grimaldi than the United Kingdom’s House of Windsor but had the aspirational whiff of Hollywood royalty.
Not basic black
Black is the baseline for risk-adverse actors wishing to appear sophisticated without drawing the attention of fashion critics. It takes the careful addition of a subtle detail to move black from boring and keep it a safe distance from daring.
The peplum on Elle Fanning’s strapless Celine gown, the capital V-neck of Cristin Milioti’s Christian Dior dress, and the leather bodice of Demi Moore’s Loewe gown were stylish without upstaging the talent wearing them.
There will always be a Bjork
At the Oscars, some stars will ditch black to follow the look-at-me lead of Danielle Deadwyler’s Louis Vuitton red dress with a ’70s lampshade silhouette, Drew Starkey’s spotted Valentino scarf masquerading as a tie and Chalamet’s lime shirt at the SAGs.
It’s been 24 years since Bjork’s swan dress, so it’s time for the crazy to take flight.
