As we slowly emerge from the haze of festivities, the Hollywood elite wasted no time diving back into the spotlight, decked out in their finery for the 82nd annual Golden Globes awards. The illustrious ceremony honouring the best in film and television took place on Sunday night at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, attracting a starry guest list that included Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, and Demi Moore to name but a few.
In contrast to the strong Irish presence at the 2024 awards, domestic nominations for 2025 were more muted, with just Andrew Scott and Colin Farrell – who picked up his third Globe for The Penguin – flying the flag. Ripley might have been shot solely in black and white, but Scott walked the red carpet in full Technicolor with a striking monochromatic blue suit by Vivienne Westwood. Farrell traded in his usual dark-hued suit for a striking white tuxedo by Dolce & Gabbana.
As the year’s first big red carpet event, the Golden Globes set the style agenda for the awards season, and this year, it was all about mega-watt sequins, glitter and saturated hues. Firstly, mesmerising metallic dresses reigned supreme. Early to the carpet was Cate Blanchett in a golden encrusted dress by Louis Vuitton, which she wore at Cannes 2024 and reworked for the Globes ceremony. Also upcycling their gown for a second outing was Viola Davis in sequin-caped Gucci, a dress she wore to the LACMA Art and Film gala last year.
Ariana Grande embraced vintage with a sixties archival Givenchy yellow-gold gown, chosen to pay homage to the yellow brick road of Wizard of Oz. Grande’s costar, Cynthia Erivo, also opted for metallic with a silver and black dress with exaggerated peplum by Louis Vuitton after a parade of poison-green Wicked promotion looks. Upping the sparkle and shine quota were Mikey Madison, Felicity Jones, Angelina Jolie, Demi Moore, and Nicole Kidman.
The Golden Globes has always been Oscar’s edgier sister, with red-carpet fashion leaning into bolder, risk-taking choices over the Academy’s preference for timeless, polished elegance. Leaning into statement-making hues was Kerry Washington in a shocking pink one-shoulder dress by Balenciaga, Heidi Klum in a draped, cut-out Kermit green gown, Melissa McCarthy in a pink frilled caped jumpsuit and Jessica Gunning in a teal ruffled velvet dress. Emma Stone, debuting a fresh pixie cut, co-ordinated with the red carpet in a scarlet dress.
Embracing Old Hollywood Glam with a contemporary flourish were Rachel Brosnahan, Selena Gomez, and Zendaya, with refined, polished dresses reminiscent of Tinseltown’s golden age. Elle Fanning gave her voluminous Princess dress by Balmain a twist, topping it off with a leopard print encrusted trim. If there was an unofficial accessory trend, it was the nostalgic resurgence of opera gloves, embraced by Ali Wong, Cristin Milioti, and Pamela Anderson, bringing a touch of old-school glamour to the red carpet. Other notable finishing touches were delivered by Timothée Chalamet, who sported a tie scarf combo draped over his suit.
[ Golden Globes 2025: full list of winnersOpens in new window ]
Rejecting the trope of method dressing, Pamela Anderson contrasted her extravagant costumes – emblematic of her film, The Last Showgirl – with an understated embrace of sophisticated, stealth-chic. Anderson chose a square-neck Oscar De La Renta dress, elbow-length gloves, and lab-grown diamonds by Pandora.
Black dresses are always an awards ceremony stalwart, and Ashely Graham, Miley Cyrus, Naomi Watts, Zoe Kravitz and Keira Knightley gave the inky shade a high-octane makeover. Shades typically not associated with red carpet glamour, such as burgundy and brown, were embraced by Salma Hayek, Arian DeBos, Amy Adams, and Zoe Saldaña. With Saint Laurent producers behind Emilia Perez, it was hotly tipped that Saldana would opt for their designs, which she did so in a chocolate brown sequin dress, elegantly complemented by a dramatic wrap by the French fashion house.
