The REAL Golden Globes losers: Fashion expert JANE TIPPET says what everyone is thinking about all THOSE dresses… and spares no one in her savage ranking

The Golden Globes marks the start of Hollywood awards season and, for the fashion literati, the opportunity to see runway turn into real life red carpet.

With a wave of new designers at the helm of many of the major fashion brands, this year was an opportunity to see firsthand where creativity – at least in terms of haute couture – is headed.

The looks we saw last night at the annual awards show have been planned weeks in advance – carefully strategized by the legions of stylists employed by the stars – and then tailored and tweaked with the aim to ensure that the perfectly fitted ensemble makes headlines, whether or not their wearer goes home with something golden!

All of which begs the question: Despite the small armies that are mobilized and the resources of European couture at their fingertips, how could so many of these women get it so wrong?

Flourishes of sequins, taffeta, bows, feathers and stoles – all of which are ostensibly ‘must have’ ingredients for a gala appearance – ensured that the star-studded affair last night looked more like a costume contest than a bid for serious black-tie chic.

The failures not only called into question the style prowess of the stars themselves but the team of designers who, whilst being heralded as the new dawn of fashion, are delivering anything but the expected elegance of the brands they now front.

Without question the star of the night – both in terms of her awards success and fashion failure was British actress and Hamnet star Jessie Buckley.

Flying the flag for the new creative director of Dior, Jonathan Anderson, Buckley appeared wearing a custom ice-blue gown that was meant to pay homage to what is being touted by the brand as, ‘Heritage Revisited.’

Yet what was meant to be a bold silhouette that highlighted precision tailoring and elegant structure instead resulted in an oddly fitted ensemble that neither highlighted Buckley’s enviable figure nor Dior’s legacy as a standard-bearer for chic. 

With a thigh high split that seemed oddly paired with a wafting gathered bustle at the back – Buckley (or perhaps Anderson) failed to live up to her potential as the night’s true star.

Deemed by most as the new wunderkind of European fashion, Anderson’s designs have been coveted by the stars who have been selected by the house to showcase his early forays into red carpet styling – and praise has been heaped upon the examples we’ve seen so far.

No doubt some will embrace Buckley’s choice as an avant garde expression of a new fashion chapter – in the same way they will laud Anderson’s design for Priyanka Chopra: an oddly fitted bodice and contrasting matte bubble skirt, with a bow affixed to the side of the waist.

But I disagree that this is Dior at its best – nor do I think that it says much for a sartorial chic that has been the hallmark of a brand that is unrivalled in terms of its iconic fashion status. 

Yet pushing the boundaries of expectations has I think become a hallmark not just for the stars who realize appearances like last night are an opportunity to generate as much notice as the films they star in – a shock and awe policy has come to prevail.

Jennifer Lawrence certainly believed that last night was one such opportunity as she wafted onto the red carpet in a sheer floral-embroidered Givenchy gown by the newly installed designer Sarah Burton (formerly of Alexander McQueen).

Featuring embroidered pink and green florals (placed strategically for modesty) layered atop a nude mesh – the almost mermaid like ensemble was a far cry from the understated elegance that became a hallmark for the custom designs created for her most famous client whilst at McQueen: Kate, the Princess of Wales.

A vehicle for Lawrence’s exceptionally svelte physique, the gown, was, like Jennifer Lopez’s over-the-top tulle number, an archival dress from Jean Louis Scherrer’s 2003 collection, was surely simply meant to be an accessory for a star whose own body was the main event. 

Lopez’s semi-nude body-hugging gown appliqued with lace and ornamented with stones which finished off in an explosion of tulle was a disappointing choice from a woman who has recently rocked a Ralph Lauren style chic that felt exciting and far more liberating than a throwback to a tired trend for the half naked.

Jenna Ortega joined the ranks of Lawrence and Lopez as a fellow fashion failure – selecting a gown that was as much about what wasn’t there as what was.

Her Lanvin-created Gothic look, from the brand’s spring 2026 ready-to-wear collection, featured a satin turtleneck, fringe shoulder pads and large cutouts that not only gave a glimpse of her well-toned hips but a tantalizing view of her breasts. But Ortega found herself a victim of a garment that unwittingly showed not only her body but her (or her stylist’s) inherently bad taste.

Yet all those who got it wrong – falling victim to trends and designs that should have not made it past the suggestion stage – there were still examples of women who realize, along with the designers behind them, what it means to showcase Hollywood glamour.

Keri Russell in her black satin Armani oozed understated chic, whilst Robin Wright Penn was a showcase for the enduring elegance that has come to define Ralph Lauren’s red-carpet dressing. 

Emma Stone, in her buttercup yellow Louis Vuitton crop top and beaded skirt understood the balance between revealing a little flesh and maintaining a sense of style.

And Amal Clooney, the consort of one of Hollywood’s true acting superstars, reminded everyone what it means to be truly glamorous. 

Rocking her red ruched Balmain gown that gathered tightly around her bodice and fell into a dramatically draped floor-length skirt, Cartier diamonds dangling from her ears, she epitomized old Hollywood magic at its best.

If last night is anything to go by, Hollywood attendees would do well to look to Amal – rather than their legion of stylists – for a lesson in what it takes to do red carpet dressing right!