By Erin Moonyeen Haley
Daredevilry was set aside as stars came out in glamorous force for the 29th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Fairmont Century Plaza. Colors were solid and silhouettes were streamlined to cookie-cutter perfection, with not a thread or frill out of place. Naturally, heavy hitter designer names were dropped like popcorn all along the red carpet: Valentino, Prada, Gucci, etc., etc., and so forth.
Nominated for outstanding performance by a female actor in a drama series for her role in Euphoria, Zendaya stepped onto the red carpet with all the sweetness of a Sandra Dee debutante and all the class of all three of the Supremes. Wearing a strapless carnation-pink Valentino satin gown submersed in rosettes that looked sculpted from icing, the star's retro coiffed 'do perfectly complemented the Bulgari jewels.
Also channeling the retro vibe was Amanda Seyfried. Clearly having as much fun as she possibly could, the actress wore a micro-mini Prada number that popped in a sour-apple-green shade and came with a table-runner-long train. And if her flipped hairdo didn't croon Nancy Sinatra, nothing did.
Another stunner in a solid color was Viola Davis. Wearing a buttercup bright Valentino gown with a full ballgown-length skirt, the star joined her The Woman King cast for numerous glam shots.
In lipstick-red Oscar de la Renta, Emily Blunt was flirtatious with florals thanks to the handsewn cherry blossoms from shoulder strap to hip. She kept the red theme going with brilliantly red lipstick, and her Bulgari gems let the dress speak for itself. (Anyone else seeing a lead possibility for a future Veronica Lake biopic?)
Julie Garner was a leggy mermaid in a copper shell bra and metallic skirt with a slit razoring the side. The Gucci blood-orange-bronze organza number was given an edgy appeal thanks to the upper bodice chainmail, while the Gucci gold platform sandals were reminiscent of something Ginger would have worn when out-dancing Fred.
Quinta Brunson wore a showstopper by Lebanese designer Jean-Louis Sabaji. With a skirt embellished with fringe upon fringe of black sparkles, the dress also rocked a seashell motif, this time with a white shell frontispiece that maintained the old Hollywood ambiance, though in a Ziegfield Follies sort of way.
Rooney Mara gave a taste of Edwardian elegance in an Alexander McQueen number of blackbird motifs peeking through snowy-white florals.
Like Davis, Angela Bassett ravished in a Giambattista Valli Couture gown that was a summertime bumblebee yellow. Perhaps best known as Queen Ramonda, she spoke with reporters about being honored that night and about the depth of her missing her dynamic costar, Chadwick Boseman. Taking home the trophy for best supporting actress, she accepted her win in a ruched dress with high fashion flaring details apropos for the night.
TwoThe Crown stars returned to their own forms, with Clara Foy (Elizabeth II) wearing a chartreuse-colored Prada, while Elizabeth Debicki looked almost autumnal in an olive green velvet gown.
Pretty in pink was an understatement when Jessica Chastain swept down the red carpet. In a dress that was officially labeled 'raspberry rose' , the taffeta dress from Zuhair Murad was an embrace of Barbie rocking Barbiecore en route to a black tie affair, with or without Ken.
With their signature deadpanned expressions, Jenny Ortega and Aubrey Day were a droll dynamic dua as they presented the award for best male actor in a television series. On the red carpet, Ortega wore an asymmetrical black dress that gave goth vibes courtesy of its crumpled trashbag-looking material. Plaza went for the disco-era sex kitten look in a halter, mid-drift baring bronze slinky dress by Michael Kors.
Tyler James Williams kept it posh and playful in a checkered suit by Thrash Bespoke.
Becoming the first Asian best actress winner at the SAG awards for Everything All At Once, Michelle Yeoh was understandably emotional accepting her award. While her previous red carpet looks have been classic and crisp, the actress was having a little fun in a black Schiaparelli couture gown, festooned with a furry spine of gold confetti from chin to toes.
With stars like Jennifer Coolidge also flipping the hair in playful, '60s school girl coiffs, and with Kerry Congdon and Sheryl Lee Ralph stunning in sequins and monochromatic colors, glamorous nostalgia continued to rule the red carpet and the award stage.
