A night synonymous with glitz, glamour and pop culture drama: the 66th annual Grammy Awards have just passed supplying us all, envious commoners or pretentious fashion snobs, more celebrity fashion looks to admire or criticise. Despite the obvious attempt to acknowledge musical talent, the night has been iconic in pop culture history for serving us style, elegance and couture. Whether you are happy or sad about the winners of the night, the award for best dressed is for us all to debate and bestow to the lucky person.  When celebrity award shows come around, I personally cannot help but discuss the overall style of the night, who hit and who missed. Not that I am a celebrity stylist or work in high fashion (yet… )but my expectations were not met by the Grammys 2024 red carpet. 

“It is simple that some people could have been more adventurous with their outfits or rather, their stylists.”

The common denominator of the night was indeed neutrals and metallics; with a few splashes of colour for those that didn’t get the memo. For the most part, we saw silhouettes of tailored, form fitting outfits, some complimentary, risque peaks of skin and an attempt to spice up a black suit and camo from Ed Sheeran (absolutely no hate for this man but so unforeseen right?). There were some looks that I loved and some I did not.  Let’s get into it !

 

Nominations for Best Dressed…..

Miley Cyrus 

Starting the list is Miley Cyrus who won Best Record of the Year for ‘Flowers’. She had four outfit changes, featuring an array of designers to keep us all on our toes. On the red carpet she wore a custom Maison Margiela look by creative director, John Galliano. The chain mail like warrior attire was crafted with 14,000 gold safety pins. Daring and controversial, this look was innovative and flattering to Miley’s bold persona,reminding me of the chainmail looks of the 2018 Met Gala.This dress is imaginative with the placement of the design and its mesh- like sheerness to it. Her style is one to be remembered from the night, wearing a vintage Bob Mackie silver sequined number for her performance and a Gucci ‘Old Hollywood’ glamour inspired high slit dress. 

 Caroline Polachek

Next, we have singer Caroline Polachek who wore a 1998 Olivier Theyskens gown that was one of my favourite full length dresses of the night. The main design feature of the dress is a red lace cut out with angular blood vessels that converge from her shoulder down her arm and to the middle of the dress. The embroidery design is dramatic and vampiric but it compliments the singer and offers a stunning contrast to the darkness of the dress. 

Tyla

To add some colour to the mix, Tyla delivered a beautiful cut out Atelier Versace dress. The pistachio green compliments her skin tone and this look is one of my favourites due to the movement and drapery of the fabric. I love the hair styling of a simple updo and minimal jewellery to avoid excessive details. 

 Dawn Richards 

Singer Dawn Richards wore a surreal and quirky dress with a canopy of red flowers rising from the bodice of the dress by the brand Khosrov. The dress is imaginative and something that will be memorable as a celebrity red carpet moment in the future, setting a high point for the sculptural dresses that have been dominating red carpets for the past couple of years. 

“I personally think that it should be celebrated if any male attendees of the red carpet appear in anything other than a black suit,…”

Some honourable mentions for best dressed include…

Ice Spice looked fashionable in denim and fur two piece jacket and skirt from designer Baby Phat. To me her outfit certainly gifted us a glamorised Y2K/street style interpretation of a red carpet gown. 

Boygenius were dressed in signature Thom Brown white suits in moire silk and pink carnation as a reference to their song ‘We’re in Love’. 

 

Nominations for Spiciest take on the Black Carpet Suit…

I personally think that it should be celebrated if any male attendees of the red carpet appear in anything other than a black suit, so let’s highlight the efforts of Jon Batiste in a custom silver high neck suit and kilt from Atelier Versace. John Legend who wore a black suit but added some interesting elements with a satin shirt and a loose low-knot tie. Admittedly an eye sore for some but not for us, Calvin Harris wore a fitted 70’s inspired patterned suit with a satin shirt in a tan brown colour. 

“I would love a return to more sculptural and playful outfits, where designers can play with movement  in their art, a recent example is Cardi B and Lizzo at the 2023 Grammys.”

Nominations for Worst Dressed…….

 

Disclaimer: I am not attacking the artists on this list and am very much a fan of most, (I am a Swiftie too so don’t track me down). It is simple that some people could have been more adventurous with their outfits or rather, their stylists. In comparison with other looks, these fall a bit flat. 

Taylor Swift

First we have Ms Taylor Swift. She appeared in a custom white Schiaparelli look with a sculpted bodice and thigh high slit. In my opinion this was a missed opportunity for her to explore her fashion more, especially when Schiaparelli looks are known for taking one element and completely accentuating it.  This seemed to be a strategic move for her, with the announcement of her new album ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ which showcases a black/white colourway and the dress certainly fits her well, however I think with better styling in terms of hair and make-up, this look would have presented better on the carpet. We all saw the messy plait hairstyle right? That being said, I did like her jewellery, in particular the watch choker. 

 

 Olivia Rodrigo 

Olivia Rodrigo consistently sticks to the same tight silhouettes for her red carpet looks and whether it’s a personal preference or a way to appear more mature it would be nice to add some excitement to her looks. She wore a vintage Versace dress white bedazzled dress that appears to be identical to a Versace runway look of model Linda Evangelista in the 90’s. Let’s switch it up Olivia. Be audacious with your style!

 

Dua Lipa

Dua Lipa donned a custom Courreges chainmail full length dress in a slouchy fit. No matter how much I love the Koi fish necklace that she is wearing, I have conflicted opinions over the fit of the dress especially in particular red carpet photos. Her make up and styling is beautiful but I think the chainmail scaly effect is slightly overpowering and drowns out her figure. I would have preferred to have seen her in a silhouette similar to her appearance in the 1992 Chanel tweed ball gown from the Met Gala 2023. In the moment she was encapsulated in fairytale attire. I also loved the texture of her crimson cushioned Prada dress for the recent Critics Choice Awards in January of this year.

 

The 66th Grammy’s awards held  an interesting mix of looks but what I really wanted from the carpet was more drama,showcased by different, larger silhouettes and textures. Understandably there were lots of neutrals and bold colours like red on this year’s carpet but I would prefer to see looks that stand out completely from the rest instead of a repeating chain of metallic attire. I would love a return to more sculptural and playful outfits, where designers can play with movement  in their art, a recent example is Cardi B and Lizzo at the 2023 Grammys. I think we need to see more fairytale-like, whimsical outfits like Gigi Hadid at the 2018 Met Gala or Zendaya at the 2023 SAGs awards. For the biggest show in the music industry, celebrities should want to amaze and impress. Go big or go home!

WORDS: Eimear Feeney