The road to the Oscars is paved with glittering awards ceremonies, and last night was no different with the 24th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards taking place in Los Angeles. Not usually as widely publicised as the mainstream Golden Globes or the holy grail Academy Awards, the SAGs still turns out to be a style spectacle of the awards season with celebrities using it to go outside their customary plunging, floor length gown comfort zone.
The second major red carpet event of the year, it’s the first since the blackout of The Golden Globes. With many predicting the black theme to continue throughout awards season, in the run up to the SAGs, stylist’s appeared to be ready to celebrate colour with Cristina Erilch and Micaela Erlanger, who dress Allison Williams and Meryl Streep, giving glimpses of the rainbow of colours we might expect with pre-fitting pictures of rails featuring bright gowns on their Instagram.
Not going full-on saturated, colour was still incorporated back into awards show looks after the red carpet blackout in the shape of muted shades and candyfloss hues. Floaty chiffons and tulles were worn in pinks, soft greys and creams including Madeline Brewer’s Reem Acra pearl encrusted gown, Dakota Fanning, and Uzo Aduba. Gem-embellished gowns got the off-white and nude treatment including Millie Brown in pink Calvin Klein and Margot Robbie in Miu Miu complete with textured accent of feathers. The colour lilac gets relatively little airtime on the red carpet, but with it a leading colour on the spring runways, Saoirse Ronan chose the polarising colour and thrust into the limelight in a minimalist pastel gown with silver detailing by Louis Vuitton.
Glow star Alison Brie fired up the red carpet in a engine red one-shoulder Dundas gown with glittering details and thigh-high slit. Bringing a feminine mood with decorative appliqué blooms was host Kirsten Bell in magenta J. Mendel, Reese Witherspoon in a subtle stripe emerald green gown and Kate Hudson in a heart motif flouncy gown by Valentino.
Elsewhere, sequins added a touch of dazzle to the red carpet, with I, Tonya actress, Allison Janney, leading the way in a suit-of-armour paliette dress, Orange is the New Black actress Danielle Brooks choose a striking ombre red and black sequin gown by Marc Bouwer, and Halle Berry in Pamella Rolland.
Bringing a touch of old school Hollywood glamour Big Little Lies actress Nicole Kidman chose a shimmering bronze column gown by Armani Prive complete with a chic chignon and classic red lip . While Get Out actress Allison Williams brought a glamorous flapper flair with a Ralph & Russo couture gown featuring embellishment and fringing; a burgundy lip and 1920s waves added the perfect beauty notes.
While the SAGs brought us more bold looks than the Globes, it wasn’t without pared back looks proving simplicity is often the most striking approach. Tracee Ellis Ross opted for an all white look in a sharply tailored gown with dramatic draping by Ralph & Russo. Following suit in all-white looks were Yvonne Strahovski in a lace dress with shirting detail by Ester Abner and Sadie Sink in an off-the-runway spring Chanel gown.
But red carpet glamour wasn’t the only thing commanding attention, in a move to continue to highlight the #Metoo movement, the show also focused its spotlight on women, with nearly all female presenters and a first-ever host in actress Kristen Bell.
