SAG Awards: Ruffles, pleats and bows add volume to a toned-down silver carpet
At first blush, those arriving at the Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium on Sunday night appeared to have little in common, style-wise. Some clearly paid homage to the awards’ silver (25th) anniversary, including the silver carpet itself (sponsored by Reynolds Wrap), by stepping out in silver metallics (Melissa McCarthy and Betty Gilpin, among them), while others favored neutral shades, including Elisabeth Moss (in a Monique Lhuillier ivory-colored ball gown), Yara Shahidi (in Fendi Couture), Rachel Bloom (in Cristina Ottaviano) and Patricia Clarkson (in Zuhair Murad).
To be accurate, eye-catching color wasn’t wholly absent; it just seemed to be the exception to the rule. Emily Blunt (in a cotton candy pink confection from Michael Kors Collection) and Susan Kelechi Watson (in a sunny yellow Christian Siriano gown) were among the most memorable bright spots of the evening.
For the record:
8:40 a.m. Jan. 27, 2019In an earlier version of this story, actress Sydney Sweeney’s last name was misspelled.
Photo Gallery: 2019 SAG Awards Showstoppers & Jaw-droppers »
But, by the time the final footfalls had faded from the silver carpet and the ceremony had started, there was one thing that tied the evening’s standout ensembles together in one great big bow — pumped-up volume. Structural volume came thanks to a plethora of pleats, a range of ruffles and a bumper crop of good old-fashioned bows (a trend that we started to see bubble up at the Golden Globes this month). The standouts of the bow brigade included Alison Brie (“GLOW”) whose black satin strapless Miu Miu gown sported a crystal-embellished back bow so big it looked like a pair of wings and Faithe Herman (“This Is Us”), who accessorized her blue tiered Valdrin Sahiti ruffle dress with a big, black House of Cyndarella back bow. (“GLOW” actress Gayle Rankin gets honorable mention for wearing a dress with a bow design embroidered on the front.)
The pleats came mostly by way of Grecian-style gowns, with two standout examples being Brie’s aforementioned “GLOW” co-star Gilpin sparkling in a silver pleated Krikor Jabotian dress with a plunging neckline and Sydney Sweeney (“The Handmaid’s Tale”), who wore a tricolor silk tulle asymmetric dress from the spring and summer 2019 Delpozo collection.
Those rocking ruffles included Amy Adams in a Celine by Hedi Slimane black bustier dress, Angela Bassett in a gray, sleeveless Georges Chakra V-neck couture collection gown with 3-D chiffon cutouts and Gemma Chan in a high-low Oscar de la Renta gown with immense ruffles that resembled feathers.
Feathers, real and otherwise, were a staple of the carpet too. They added volume to the Elie Saab ensemble worn by Chan’s “Crazy Rich Asians” costar Michelle Yeoh that included an ostrich feather skirt, and the feather-like fringe of Lady Gaga’s straight-from-the-runway ivory-colored Dior Haute Couture look trembled like a starlet’s lower lip with every step.
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