Beyond the superficial color trends of Sunday night’s Golden Globe Awards–shiny metallics and blush tones anyone?–one theme reigned supreme: texture. The lovely ladies who walked the soggy red carpet embraced one of two options–beads and lace (Penelope Cruz’s Armani Privé, Olivia Wilde’s Gucci, Jennifer Garner’s Atelier Versace) or oh-so-feminine fabric manipulation (Maggie Gyllenhaal’s RM by Roland Mouret, Diane Kruger’s Lacroix Couture, Drew Barrymore’s Atelier Versace, Marion Cotillard’s Dior, Kate Hudson’s Marchesa).
Was it just me or did in-your-face jewelry of years past not rear its ostentatious head this time around? Don’t get me wrong; I love a Cartier, Bulgari, or Van Cleef & Arpels bauble as much as the next Couture Snob, but it was refreshing to see them whittled down this season as elegant complements not vying for attention with the dress (perhaps the unfortunate Haiti earthquake had one positive aftershock). I think two of the evening’s best examples of texture and fabric manipulation came courtesy of Carey Mulligan and Chloë Sevigny–both by designers that look like they’re making positive comebacks after much designer shuffling. The former’s elegant Nina Ricci gown, designed by Peter Copping, featured what appeared to be a crater-cum-floral motif, which perfectly suited the actresses’ sweetheart persona while the latter’s Valentino gown, masterminded by Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli, fill both the dramatic and red carpet quotients to a tee.
