Golden Globes fashion: What the fashion says about slebs in 2024

The Golden Globes. From one point of view, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association awards are a form guide for the Oscars. On the other hand, they are the first big fashion event of the year, with a prize ceremony tacked on. Look at it this way: do you know who won Best Director at the 2015 Golden Globes? Probably not. But you probably remember the black Lanvin jumpsuit with crystal-embellished bodice that Emma Stone wore that year.

What stars wear is big business. Not only do couturiers compete to clothe the movie industry’s best and brightest, but the stars know that making an impact will burnish their image, and that carries earning potential. Cutting a memorable dash can come in two ways: you may grab immediate clicks by surprising, shocking or titillating, but much more challenging is to make an appearance of such immaculate poise that it remains in the public memory. In essence, it sums up the distinction between fashion and style.

For gentlemen, this is a demanding proposition. There is an enormous safe space of recourse to black tie, the reassuring but flattering and forgiving uniform of formal events. There are really no excuses here: whether you are a six-foot-four Adonis or a hunched-over hobbit, a well-tailored dinner jacket will always make you look better. With money no object, this is easily within your grasp. Think David Niven, George Clooney, Hugh Grant. These people just don’t get it wrong.

At the cutting edges are two options. You can choose an ensemble which is daringly contemporary and casual, cocking a snook at the traditions of men’s dress. Timothée Chalamet chose this route at the Golden Globes, in black trousers, black shirt unbuttoned defiantly low and a sparkling blazer by Celine Homme. Very rebellious, very edgy undergraduate, very forgettable.

The alternative is to wear something which not only eschews but upends convention. Billy Porter—who else?—did this at last year’s Golden Globes when he selected a crimson velvet tuxedo gown by Christian Siriano, a nod to the black version of the same outfit he had worn to the Academy Awards in 2019. This has more élan and imagination than a semi-bared chest and is more distinctive, in a milieu in which standing out means cashing in.

Let us think about the long term as well as immediate impact. The cream of those who waltz across the red carpet have the opportunity to become cultural icons, some of the most recognisable touchstones for generations. It may seem a great leap from choosing what outfit to wear for a night out all the way to embodying the zeitgeist, but huge reputations are built from thousands of tiny fragments.

The Chalamet approach, if I can call it that, is the hare in this race. Of course the fashionisti are swooning over his dashing appearance, and nature has dealt him a strong hand: the 28-year-old is a man of modest stature, just five-foot-eight, but he is handsome and fashionably androgynous, with an open, easygoing charm. But in entertainment these are just qualifying rounds to get you to the main competition.

Porter is a spikier, more challenging figure. His sartorial approach, full-fat cross dressing rather than gender ambiguity, is more clearly defined, and in Porter’s case, of course, has a political edge. That gives it greater longevity.

Ultimately stars are made from sustained performance. This, I think, is where timeless elegance comes into its own. Stylish men create an aura which comes from nailing the look time after time, fashioning a reputation for perfection which does not depend on one or two big splashes.

I may be old-fashioned, but if you want to be remembered in the long run, don’t take the easy route of shock-and-awe or too-cool-for-school. The rules are there to help you hit the black tie mark. That, not the brief exclamation of a headline, is lasting greatness.