2022 was a great year for fashion. For the most part, most award events went back to fully in-person ceremonies after two years of pandemic restrictions. We are also seeing a huge effort by the entertainment industry to celebrate diversity and make talent of different backgrounds more visible.
This diversity has made red carpets more exciting because we can see how people from all over the world interpret fashion and use it to express themselves fully.
Here are some of the most memorable red carpet moments from this year. These moments didn’t just create many conversations on social media, but they made us question our beliefs and perceptions of fashion. So it’s no surprise that the fashion on the red carpet for Euphoria’s second season premiere was stunning.
A Premiere with Euphoria
We started the year with a very much anticipated second season of the super successful show, Euphoria. One characteristic that has made this show so successful is the careful and beautifully curated styling from head to toe of each of the characters in Euphoria.
This year, we have seen a major trend of long gloves and full-catsuits that cover arms and hands. Some people attribute this trend to the phobia of germs and viruses that developed during the pandemic. Others believe it’s simply a movement of contrast to bring the focal point of a look to a different part of the body.
For Euphoria’s second season, the actress Sydney Sweeney wears a beautiful off-white embellished red carpet dress with gloves by Miu Miu.
For the last couple of years, we have seen celebrities wearing dresses from the archives of several fashion houses. This is a beautiful message about the importance of reusing and caring about your clothes, and about how smart designs can prevail on time and still look stunning. Zendaya wore a Valentino dress from the Spring Summer collection of 1992. This means the dress is 30 years old!
Jacob Elordi wears a suit by Celine styled with white leather shoes. The dress codes for most premieres are not formal per se, so there is room for creativity and for leaving at home certain accessories like a tie or a belt.
Jenny from the Block Goes Bridal
The timeline of Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s relationship goes back to 2001 when they filmed together the movie Gigli.
Ever since, Ben Affleck has been a strong advocate of hers. “People were so mean about her. They were sexist and racist. Ugly, vicious sh*t was written about her in many ways that if you wrote it now, you would literally be fired for saying those things you said”. Hollywood Reporter.
So since they got back together in May 2021, fans have gone crazy seeing the couple on several red carpets. One of the most exciting ones was the premiere of the movie Marry Me, starring JLO, Owen Wilson, and Maluma. The actress and singer wore a white lace dress by Giambattista Valli with Jimmy Choo stilettos. The white dress had a huge bridal influence. It made many people wonder if the red carpet dress was aligned with the theme of the movie or if Jenny from the Block was giving a subtle message of a chapter in her life that would happen a couple of months later when she got married to Ben Affleck.
As Ben Affleck has stated, many of the allegations against Jennifer Lopez are based on a sexist and racist perspective, as she has celebrated her beauty and has been very open and vulnerable in her relationships while many media focuses more on her personal life than on her talent as a singer, actress, and dancer. Many people look at JLO wearing a wedding dress and may think as something is off or that she shouldn’t get married after X age. So Jennifer Lopez’s wedding dresses are Political Fashion because when people have a conservative reaction about what women should do and wear after a certain age, we know that there are outdated beliefs that must be challenged. And it is very exciting to see Jennifer Lopez challenging these ideas not with one but with several wedding dresses.
Rihanna’s Pregnancy is Political Fashion
Another impressive Political Fashion moment was the way Rihanna dressed during her pregnancy. The conversations were more about what she didn’t wear than about what she wore. Throughout her red carpet dresses, fashion shows, and promotion events for her line Fenty, we didn’t see maternity jeans or flowy dresses that cover the whole body. Instead, Rihanna showed her belly and styled it with shorts, crop tops, and lots of transparency. This is an interesting political fashion move because maternity wear traditionally tends to be “everything but sexy.” It is about comfort, and it rarely focuses on being aesthetically pleasing.
So seeing Rihanna walk around with pieces of lingerie in the streets of Milan and showing her belly proudly is a statement about a woman’s autonomy in her own body, regardless of its shape, regardless of being pregnant or not, regardless of “not the right time to be sexy because you are supposed to be home taking care of the child you are expecting.”
Your Majesty Blake Lively as Co-Chair of the Met Gala
With more significant progress in technology, fashion statements, and an accumulation of iconic red carpet moments at the Met Gala, the expectations keep getting higher and higher. We saw Lady Gaga’s performance on the carpet in 2019 with four looks by Brandon Maxwell. There was the absolutely gorgeous technological blue gown Zac Posen created in 2016 or the beautifully curated looks Sarah Jessica Parker delivers every single time she shows up to the Met steps.
This year, Blake Lively co-chaired the Met Gala with her husband Ryan Reynolds, Regina King, and Lin-Manuel Miranda. Since it was announced Blake would be attending as co-chair, lots of ideas and conversations started blooming about what she would wear since she is one of the best-dressed guests at this event.
Blake Lively showed up to the Met Gala with a dress by Atelier Versace. The gown made several references to New York City, including embellishments illustrating the architecture of the Empire State Building, constellations painted from Grand Central Station, and a crown with seven spikes like the Statue of Liberty, which represents the seven continents and the seven seas.
The theme of the Met Gala in 2022 was In America: An Anthology of Fashion. The theme focused on celebrating American fashion history with a huge emphasis on inclusion. Andrew Bolton, the head curator of the exhibition, states that many names have been forgotten, and this is a huge opportunity to celebrate their fashion legacy, as many of these talents come from marginalized groups.
La Rosalía at the Met Gala
One of the few guests who nailed the theme of the Met and adapted it to their own style was Rosalía. This year, the Spanish singer attended the Met Gala for the second time. Matthew M. Williams for Givenchy designed her dress. The red carpet outfit had a huge influence on the Golden Age, with beautiful embellishments and layers of tulle. At the same time, it celebrated the urban and edgy style of the artist. Rosalía’s dress is a great example of how to follow a specific dress code while celebrating your personality and your background and looking spectacular.
The Youngest Actress to Win Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
This year, Zendaya became the youngest person to win two Emmy awards. In the 74th edition of this ceremony, the actress won for the second time the best lead actress for her work as Rue Bennet in Euphoria. At 26, Zendaya knows how to deliver a memorable red carpet dress. From the Oscars to the Met Gala and after parties, she understands dress codes and how to outstand in a crowd where fashion is relevant.
Valentino created several dresses for this very special occasion. The dress was inspired by Grace Kelly and Linda Evangelista, and the dress was made in about a week.
Embracing Femininity is the New Masculinity
Timothée Chalamet is one of the leading figures in men’s fashion. His clothes often make the lines between womenswear and menswear blurry. He embraces formal dress codes with grace and elegance.
The Venice Film Festival happens in the middle of the summer, with temperatures that go up to 90°F, and the humidity makes the whole climate very uncomfortable for visitors.
So when Timothée Chalamet arrived on the red carpet with a backless red halterneck top and tailored pants, the reactions were mixed. Many people made fun of the clothes, comparing him with Mr. Tumnus from the Chronicles of Narnia. But many others celebrated this effort to make red carpet clothes genderless, with beautiful tailoring and an impactful statement against binary dress codes. The clothes designed by Haider Ackerman are an alteration of a 2018 collection modeled by women only.
Fashion changes and gendered perceptions become less relevant when strong figures like Timothée Chalamet have the courage to challenge these social constructions by letting themselves be seen with clothes that historically have been thought to be for women only.
Wakanda Forever
Last but definitely not least, a highly anticipated premiere took place at the Dolby Theater on October 26, 2022. The talent who participated in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, showed up to the red carpet with spectacular clothes that align with the high-fashion efforts, very representative of the Black Panther sequel.
Oversized fashion can be a challenge when you don’t style it correctly. There is a wrong assumption that oversized fashion is about wearing a garment a few sizes larger than the size you usually wear. In order for these clothes to look good, there needs to be some body contouring. Otherwise, it’s simply a layer of fabric that covers your body ungracefully.
Michael B. Jordan showed up to the premiere with an oversized jacket and matching pants in a bold yellow by Louis Vuitton. The placement of the neckline is appropriate as well as the shoulder seams (where the sleeve begins). The oversized aspect of the jacket comes at the sleeves and the length of the hem. The vertical line detail in the trousers that goes all the way down to the hem makes him look taller, and it is so subtle that each little detail adds value to the outfit, making him one of the best-dressed men of the night!
Lupita Nyong’o is one of the actresses whose fashion statements are often talked about. Her boldness, courage to try new things, and her pride in celebrating her Kenyan and Mexican heritage whenever she has an opportunity make her red carpet appearances so special.
For the Wakanda Forever premiere, Lupita Nyong’o showed up with a white two-piece outfit by Balmain, styled with a headpiece that celebrates the African inspiration of the film.
Another fascinating moment on the red carpet of the Wakanda Forever premiere, was when the actress Danai Gurira showed up with a voluminous and dramatic purple gown by Robert Wun styled with an asymmetrical pleated skirt. The textures of both garments together in a similar color scheme make the outfit truly sophisticated and memorable.
It is encouraging to see more efforts from several industries to pay attention to diversity, equity, and inclusion. There is still a long way to go. But this year, many people from all over the world could see on a red carpet a celebrity that looks like them and represents their background. Those are efforts that are worth highlighting because they encourage and acknowledge the diversity of backgrounds and ideas that we have when we are able to leave prejudices behind and pay attention to the talent and beauty that is around us. We hope these efforts keep increasing in 2023 throughout the world.
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