My Favorite Looks from the Emmys 2012

Another awards show, another red carpet. It really is the perfect excuse for our favorite entertainers to get dressed up and show us their style. This year at the Emmys, the stars turned out in the most color to walk a red carpet in...ever!!, and despite the sweltering heat, everyone was able to hold it together and strut down the red carpet in the most extravagant I have seen the Emmys in a very long time. Could it be because so many of our present day television stars are from the world of film and have gotten major practice doing the same awards show runway work on the Oscars red carpet, or has the style quotient for Awards season come to a fashion apex and is culminating in the higher echelons of what it really means to "dress up", or is the Emmys red carpet benefiting heavily because the show is taking place during Fashion Month and the access to hot & fresh-off-the-runway-looks is easier? Perhaps its a broad mix of all of these things, with style being the most important ingredient of all.

It is refreshing to see color and prints on the red carpet, as well as the variety of texture (sequins, lace, and tulle), and shimmer and shine. Here is a look at my favorite looks from this year's show, (in no particular order):

Ginnifer Goodwin in Monique Lhuillier

Julie Bowen in Monique Lhuillier

Zooey Deschanel in Reem Acra

Ariel Winter in Katherine Kidd and shoes by Brian Atwood

Claire Danes in Lanvin with husband (and best dressed man of the night) Hugh Dancy in Burberry

Edie Falco in Stella McCartney

Hayden Panetierre in Marchesa

Julia Louis-Dreyfus in Vera Wang

January Jones in Zac Posen

Kat Dennings in J. Mendel

Kerry Washington in Vivienne Westwood

Morena Baccarin in Basil Soda

Juliana Marguilies in Giambattista Valli Couture

           

Kelly Osbourne in Zac Posen

It will be interesting to see how, as the Awards season comes to a virtual close now, red carpet dressing will plateau to the next level when the season gears up into high gear again in the next few months. Will the fashion sense stay as high as it is now or just reach further into the stratosphere? I can't wait to see!
-fggofstyle
(all photos via style.com/ABC)

Golden Moment: Olympics Closing Ceremony London 2012

One of the best moments during the amazing London Olympics Closing Ceremony was the tribute to British Fashion, featuring the most iconic British models to have walked any runway in our post modern times (Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, Stella Tennant, Karen Elson,  Lily Cole, Georgia May Jaggar, Jourdon Dunn, and David Gandy) wearing the globally influential designs of the greats of Brit Mode (Christopher Kane, Alexander McQueen, Burberry, Erdem, Victoria Beckham, Paul Smith, Stephen Jones, Jonathan Saunders, and Vivienne Westwood), all to the sounds of David Bowie's "Fashion". You couldn't ask for a better moment and a better tribute to the United Kingdom's vast contribution to the fashion industry. 

At the Olympics Closing Ceremony London 2012
(fr L-R: Stella Tennant, Lily Cole, Karen Elson, Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Jourdon Dunn, and David Gandy) (photo via CBS News/Getty)

In conjunction to the live presentation, Vogue UK has published a fashion editorial in the September 2012 issue with each of the models wearing their respective outfits from the ceremony, photographed by Nick Knight. Another wonderful tribute, this time in print. 

(photo set above, via Vogue UK/Nick Knight/www.designscene.net)

The entire cast of models walking the newsprint catwalk at the Closing Ceremony
(fr L-R: Lily Cole, Karen Elson, Stella Tennant, Kate Moss, Lily Donaldson, Naomi Campbell, Jourdon Dunn, Georgia May Jagger, and David Gandy) (photo via Daily Mail/Getty)

The fashion fun actually didn't end with the tribute but was found through out the show, with the various British performers showing the world that the UK definitely has totally winning style, from George Michael in dark leather, Annie Lennox in pirate chic wearing a Vivienne Westwood basque, Jessie J in an asymmetrical beaded catsuit, the Pet Shop Boys in futuristic cutting edge sequined stripes and fur shoulder pads, to the Spice Girls giving us pure zigazigah spicy sass the only way those girls can. London 2012 showed the world that Brits have a unique and golden style all their own. And that's brilliant good.
-fggofstyle

RELATED LINKS

Vogue UK; 'Midas Touch' | Film Fashion & Culture

Supermodels in Midas Touch by Nick Knight for Vogue UK | Design Scene

 The September Issue 2012 | Vogue UK

My Favorite Looks from the Academy Awards 2012

The stars came out in full force for the annual fête we plebians know as the Academy Awards. As anticipated as it was that former host Billy Crystal was back to host this year's show after the seriously flawed attempt (and the great on stage fashion show that was Anne Hathaway) last year, I felt that there was a lot of "lack" happening all over the place at the show this year. Too much amped-up hype that lead to real time lacklusterism.
Even on the Red Carpet, that hallowed walkway leading into the theater, proved that this year there was a style confusion and a sense of boredom. There was very little in the way of clear trends being presented, as many of the gowns chosen proved: some stars wore color while others steered clear of it, there was very little sequins or embellishments, jewelry and accessories were sparse or used minimally, gowns were either strapless and sleek or full and sleeved with little variations in between. At least there was the ever present voluminous train on almost every gown, so at least we had that trend to fall back on, or over (the train was overkill, in my opinion).

For me, the gowns that stood out moved away from a sea of bore and into a bit more individual glamour.  They allowed the wearer to convey a bit of self and showed that they had exercised "choice" and overwhelmingly chose "personal style" as the showcase. The standout gowns for me also showed the best example of the "otherness" of the gown: how it lives within its "trend" but is not ruled by it (Esperanza Spalding, Penelope Cruz, Rose Byrne), great use of the ever-important tailoring (Octavia Spencer, Tina Fey), how it excels in pushing boundaries in Red Carpet dressing by making modern strides in new ways (Gwenyth Paltrow, Natalie Portman, Jessica Chastain), and for sheer daring (Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Lopez).

Natalie Portman in vintage Christian Dior

Gwenyth Paltrow in Tom Ford

Angelina Jolie in Atelier Versace

Jennifer Lopez in Zuhair Murad

Octavia Spencer in Tadashi Shoji

Esperanza Spalding in Prophetik

Tina Fey in Carolina Herrera

Rose Byrne in Vivienne Westwood

Penelope Cruz in Armani Prive

Jessica Chastain in Alexander McQueen

And the style party continued afterwards at the post-show parties. Many took more risks and let loose (it is a party after all) where the strict rules of the Red Carpet don't apply. I was surprised to see better choices at the parties than the show itself (Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez), and color was key (Kate Hudson), as well as sequins and embellishments (Kate Bosworth, Lily Collins).

Cameron Diaz in Victoria Beckham

Kate Bosworth in Prabal Gurung

Lily Collins in Monique Lhuillier

Kate Bosworth in vintage Versace

Jennifer Lopez in Zuhair Murad

Next year there will be a whole other show called "At The Party", I'm quite sure. It is, after all, where the real fun style showed up this year. I hope next year some of the more daring stars come back and shake up the style show a bit and interject some panache and humor, or our favorite Oscar regulars show a bit more style evolution and daring in their choices for the Red Carpet as well as the parties.
If not, we will always have Bjork and Cher..!


-fggofstyle
(all photos via Getty Images, stylebistro.com, or nytimes.com except Gwenyth Paltrow via Harper's Bazaar.com)