The forecast for 2022 awards season fashion looks unclear, but Hollywood’s top stylists aren’t letting small details, like postponed and privatised ceremonies, get in the way of dreaming up fantastical red-carpet looks. To the prospect of more masked photos, in line with Covid-19 regulations, celebrity dressers say long live Hollywood style! Faced with the possibility of Zoom acceptance speeches, they’re throwing colour—and more colour!—into the mix.
Here, the creative individuals behind Tinseltown’s most-publicised wardrobes predict the biggest red-carpet trends of 2022.
All out opulence
“Drama in the form of bold silhouettes—from sultry column dresses to big ballgowns—exquisite jewellery and haute couture,” is what Tara Swennen expects to see as the awards shows unfold. The woman behind Kristen Stewart’s elegantly punk uniform notes the emphasis will be on “jaw-dropping trains and breathtaking beadwork”, as stars nod to the “show-stopping Hollywood glamour” the world never tires of seeing and which offers a welcome shot in the arm during the bleak mid-winter.
The brand that’s geared up to oblige those seeking modern Marilyn Monroe moments? Gucci, of course. Alessandro Michele’s Love Parade show, staged on Hollywood’s legendary Walk of Fame, was chock full of frothy, pearlescent confections begging for a great paparazzi pic. Rising styling double act Zadrian Smith and Sarah Edmiston say the presentation was electric, and reflected everyone’s desire to “really embrace a sense of escapism through fashion”.
For some, including Andrew Gelwicks—who looks after the inimitable Catherine O’Hara and Susan Sarandon—the odes to Audrey Hepburn et al belong back in 2021. “As we look to 2022, I think we will see a bit more contemporary edge [to red-carpet wear]”, he says, citing Valentino as a one-stop-shop for unparalleled contemporary glamour. “Pierpaolo Piccioli’s collections translate extremely well on the red carpet, giving stars that ultimate can’t-look-away moment,” he explains.
