The momentum of awards season persists with the Screen Actors Guild Awards, more commonly known as the SAG Awards. Over the weekend the event, now in its 30th year, honoured outstanding achievements in both television and film and marked the return of the event since the end of the SAG-AFTRA strike in November. Nominations at the SAG awards paint a similar picture to the season so far. Barbenheimer – a moniker Barbie and Oppernheimer have earned throughout the year – were tried for most nomination with four each, though it was the latter that dominated ahead of the Academy Awards on March 11.
While the SAG awards traditionally garner slightly less attention than their bigger sisters such as the aforementioned Academy Awards and the Golden Globes, the event is said to be one of the most beloved by its attendees, who donned their finest frocks and several pieces of fashion history to this year’s ceremony, that were a far cry from the casual outfits worn to the picket line just month ago. Among the highlights of the latest award show was a nostalgic on-stage reunion of the cast of “The Devil Wears Prada,” including Anne Hathaway wearing cerulean and other daring outfits on the blue-tinted red carpet.
Homages, Sequins and big fashion moments
The SAG Awards were the last night of award season that saw Margot Robbie nominated as best actress for her titular role in Barbie, and the Australian actress paid homage to her character one more time. Robbie donned a sleek black minidress adorned with a sculptural pink add-on that Barbie would surely approve of. The adornment originated from her shoulder, wrapped around her waist, and cascaded into a sweeping train, courtesy of Daniel Rosebery from Schiaparelli. An ode to her on-screen character in ‘Poor Things’ seems to have been on Emily Stone’s mind. Stone, a house ambassador for Louis Vuitton, wore a custom silver beaded gown with subtle purple and blue feather-accents.
Beads and all that glitters did not only strike a chord with Stone but were seen on several other attendees. Elizabeth Debicki who was nominated and took home an award for her portrayal of Princess Diana in the latest season of the TV-drama The Crown, wore a light blue floor-length gown adorned in intricate beading from Armani Privé. The gown featured a sheer mesh neckline and a backless silhouette similarly to Stones, while actress Jennifer Aniston wore a silver Celine dress, which featured spaghetti straps and a high slit.
Feathers and fringes rather than beads and sparkles were the fashion recipe for both, Kelley Curran and Maddie Ziegler. Curran, a nominee for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama for ‘The Gilded Age’, took to the SAG carpet in a white feather dress while Ziegler donned a historic Alexander McQueen dress from the spring 2003 collection sourced from Shrimpton Couture.
While Ziegler’s McQueen dress might have been the most historic fashion moment of the night, stars like actress and comedian Ayo Edebiri and Greta Lee also created some high-fashion looks with choices that went against the typical red carpet grain. Edebiri collected the Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series for ‘The Bear,’ at the 2024 SAG Awards, making it a clean sweep this awards season – and she did so in a dress worthy of the occasion. The actress wore a checked gown from Luar’s Fall 2023 collection, therefore not only representing a relatively young brand, but also one that is not exactly a red carpet staple yet. The Row, more established but also no standard Red Carpet choice, was worn by Greta Lee, who has been wearing experimental dresses by brands such as Loewe and Bottega Veneta throughout this award season. For the SAG awards, the actress turned to a look from The Olsen sisters’ resort 2023 collection, completed with leather gloves and a simple hairstyle.
Meanwhile, actress Bel Powley served up whimsical elegance wearing a Chanel Fall 2022 Haute Couture petticoated dress accented with silk tulle and feathers, proving that black and white does not have to be minimalistic, something that was further underlined by Ali Wong. The ‘Beef’-Star wore an otherworldly, laser-cut dress by Iris Van Herpen.
Another actress who took a look back at runways past was Anne Hathaway. The actress who sat front row at the Versace fashion show in Milan just 48 hours prior wore a cerulean coloured gown from the Italian brand’s Spring 2015 couture collection. The dress and its colour were a nod to Hathaway’s film ‘The Devil wears Prada’ from 2006 that would be referenced later on during the awards ceremony when Hathaway and her co-stars Emily Blunt and Meryl Streep reunited on stage.
Archetypal red carpet fashion
No award show would be complete without some hallmarks of red carpet dressing. Just like the slew of red carpets already passed, the colour red reigned supreme in all of its hue’s and textures– from scarlet, to cherry, with sparkles, in satin or with a matte effect.
Emily Blunt proved that red is the colour of the season in a plunging custom Louis Vuitton gown, while Reese Witherspoon wore a structured crêpe strapless gown with a draped bodice and dramatic thigh-high slit by Elie Saab Couture.
Not taking home an award but therefore dressing like one was ‘Maestro’-actress Carey Mulligan in a satin champagne-hued dress by Armani Privé, while red-carpet host Elaine Welteroth chose a black velvet strapless gown with a metallic gold peplum midsection by Sophie Couture, paired with matching gloves.
