Grammys 2016: Black and white and bare all over on the red carpet

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Grammys 2016: Best and worst dressed (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times (left and center), Jordan Strauss / Invision/Associated Press (right))

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Adele ranks among the best dressed of the 58th Grammy Awards red carpet, thanks to her custom Givenchy Haute Couture by Riccardo Tisci dress with allover embroidery that combined paillettes, crystals and pearls for just the right level of dialed-back glamour.

(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times (left and right), Paul Buck / EPA (center))

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Florence Welch earns a spot on our best-dressed list thanks to the pale pink silk chiffon long-sleeve gown with ruffle neckline, sequin trompe l’oeil belt detail with star, heart, moon and dragonfly embroideries from the Gucci pre-fall 2016 collection. Not everyone’s cup of red carpet, perhaps, but it seemed to capture the magic and whimsy of the chanteuse.

(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times (left and right), Jason Merritt / Getty Images for NARAS (center))

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Carrie Underwood was one of the first to hit the Grammy Awards red carpet – and one of the first to make our best-dressed list thanks to her stunning Nicolas Jebran gown.

(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times (left and right), Jason Merritt / Getty Images for NARAS (center))

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Ellie Goulding’s bespoke Stella McCartney blush-colored V-neck gown was Hollywood elegance from the front but rock ‘n’ roll from the back – thanks to diamond drape detail.

(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times (left and right), Kirk Paul Buck / EPA (center))

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Kacey Musgraves’ strapless purple ombre gown from Armani Prive fall 2015 is a confection in feathers and beads – and makes her a shoo-in to the 58th Grammys best-dressed list.

(Kirk McCoy / Los Angeles Times (left and center), Jordan Strauss / Invision/Associated Press (right))

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Selena Gomez in a Calvin Klein Collection tanzanite sequin dress with cutouts was one of the dresses that struck the right tone at the 58th Grammy Awards.

(Jason Merritt / Getty Images (left), Kirk McCoy / Los Angeles Times (center), Paul Buck / EPA (right))

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Cam’s yellow dress that fades to white at the ruffled train – by Georges Chakra – was among our favorite red-carpet looks of the night.

( Jordan Strauss / Invision/AP)

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Although Taylor Swift’s coral crop top and magenta skirt by Atelier Versace was certainly on trend, it felt too informal – even for the Grammy Awards red carpet. She’s done better – much better – and even the slinky, sparkly number she wore to perform would have been a better choice. The leg slit that kind of became a front slit helped earn her a spot on our worst-dressed list.

(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

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We’re not sure who made Joy Villa’s Grammy Awards dress -- and we’re not sure we want to know -- but it was definitely pulling focus on the pre-show red carpet. It looks like it very well could have been made from the rib cage of some prehistoric animal -- or some of the set pieces from “Game of Thrones.” If you recall, at last year’s Grammy’s she turned up in a dress that appeared to be made of something that resembled orange Caltrans barrier tape. If she’s booking for a lengthy run on the worst-dressed list, she’s off to a great start.

(Valerie Macon / AFP/Getty Images (left), Jordan Strauss / Jordan Strauss / Invision/Associated Press (right))

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Ciara’s Alexandre Vauthier haute couture black silk chiffon leopard crystal embroidered slip dress was another dress that was on trend but off the mark. Not even a headline-making leg-slit saves us from adding her to our worst-dressed list.

(Jordan Strauss / Invision/Associated Press)

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Thundercat looked like he’d been up in the Arctic Circle fixing the Sno-Cat before the Grammy Awards. Proudly. So he gets a spot on the worst-dressed list – proudly.

(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times (left and right), Paul Buck / EPA (center))

By Adam Tschorn

Senior Features Writer

Feb. 16, 2016 4:30 AM PT

The Grammy Awards are usually reliable for over-the-top, censor-vexing fashion, but with the notable exception of Joy Villa, who dressed in what appeared to be animal bones, the stars who hit the red carpet at Monday’s show kept things noticeably dialed down. When old-school black and white is the most noticeable trend, you know you’ve got a tame red carpet.

Adele was among those taking basic black to the next level. She chose a custom dress from Givenchy Haute Couture by Riccardo Tisci with allover embroidery that combined paillettes, crystals and pearls for just the right level of dialed-back glamour.

Demi Lovato made her Grammy Awards debut in a tailored blazer and skirt ensemble by Norisol Ferrari and in the evening’s most daring neckline, which she draped in a focus-pulling necklace by L.A.-based jeweler Loree Rodkin, while Zendaya chose a black double-breasted tuxedo by Dsquared2.

Grammys 2016: Full coverage | Red carpet | Show highlights | Nominees and winners | Top nominees

On the white side of the equation were Kaley Cuoco in a sequined pantsuit, Chrissy Teigen in a swath by Yousef Al-Jasmi that put her baby bump front and center, Big Sean in a white shawl collar tuxedo jacket with black satin lapels and Justin Bieber, finally wearing a tux that he wasn’t swimming in. He paired an all-white Saint Laurent by Hedi Slimane tuxedo jacket with a black dress shirt and black tuxedo trousers.

Janelle Monáe went black — and white — with an ensemble from the fall 2015 Jean Paul Gaultier couture collection, accessorized with a black-and-white pillbox hat, black-and-white clutch and black boots to boot.

Men sporting the black-on-black look included the Weeknd, Charlie Puth, Alice Cooper (accessorizing with a riding crop for no apparent reason), Common and John Legend. The last two managed to make the basic black tuxedo their own — Common thanks to festive white polka dots on the tux lapels and his black dress shirt, Legend by going with a black Gucci evening jacket with an allover gold silk Jacquard design that, upon closer examination, turned out to be bees. (Appropriate for generating buzz, no?)

Carrie Underwood turned out to be a twofer in the trend department. First for the strapless black gown by Nicolas Jebran that felt like an homage to old Hollywood elegance, second for the daring left leg slit that ended at the top of her thigh.

Carrie Underwood was one of the first to hit the Grammy Awards red carpet – and one of the first to make our best-dressed list thanks to her stunning Nicolas Jebran gown.

That put her squarely in with the night’s other noticeable trend — the strategic baring of skin. Instead of the dangerously plunging décolletage prevalent on previous red carpets this season (Lovato and Villa, notwithstanding), exposed skin here was revealed in the form of slashes, cutouts and glimpses — like the belly-button-baring triangle of Cuoco’s glittery pant suit, the side cutouts on Selena Gomez’s tanzanite sequin Calvin Klein Collection dress and Bella Hadid’s Alexandre Vauthier haute couture black silk jersey crystal embroidered gown with cutouts arching gracefully over the hips.

Taylor Swift went for double-barrel skin-baring with a coral-colored crop top and magenta skirt by Atelier Versace.

Lady Gaga, always a Grammy red carpet high point, managed to key into the high-slit trend and pay sartorial homage to David Bowie, arriving at the last minute in a custom-designed, electric-blue, double-breasted Marc Jacobs satin coat dress embroidered with multicolored sequins and decorative metallic elements (by Maison Lesage) with a high-side slit and lacing up the back.

The high slit high point of the evening, though, went to Ciara, who turned out in an Alexandre Vauthier haute couture black silk chiffon leopard crystal embroidered slip dress with an extra-wide left leg slit that appeared to end north of her belly button.

adam.tschorn@latimes.com

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