Tracee Ellis Ross in Marc Jacobs: The asymmetric halter of Marc Jacobs’ dress added a soupçon of eccentricity to a classic style. The turban heightened one of the evening’s most personality-driven looks.
Helen Mirren in Zuhair Murad: Mirren managed to look divinely elegant and a bit racy in Zuhair Murad. Maybe it’s a British thing.
Margot Robbie in Gucci: The shoulder of Robbie’s Gucci’s gown gave her look a hint of retro, which she wisely countered with simple hair. When the Globes all-black initiative was announced, I joked to someone, “There goes Gucci.” Wrong! It seems that Alessandro Michele is incapable of a misstep (at least with the lights up). Here, he proved as adept at rendering his decorative impulses in black, silver and crystals as in mixing every color under the sun.
Dakota Johnson in Gucci and Nirav Modi jewelry: See above. Not only can Michele wow within specified parameters seemingly antithetical to his nature, he can also do plain to perfection — at least from the front view. With a jeweled belt buckle at her waist, Johnson looked chic and understated. The embroidery in back made for Gucci-fied delight.
Dakota Johnson in Gucci and Nirav Modi jewelry
Kerry Washington in Prabal: A simple silhouette, all a-glitter, by Prabal Gurung. Rogier Vivier’s booties added whimsy.
Blanca Blanco in Atria Couture: You’ve got to admire a gal who doesn’t cave to peer pressure. Blanco’s dress is by Atria Couture.
Hong Chau in Stella McCartney: Chau worked the discreet side of seduction in a new-looking slipdress by Stella McCartney.
Viola Davis in Brandon Maxwell: With her glorious hair atop Brandon Maxwell’s classic-glam gown, Davis delivered a one-look treatise on celebrating one’s natural assets.
Naomi Campbell in Jean Paul Gaultier: The pact with the devil continues to pay dividends. The woman has not aged an iota in 25 years. She looked fabulous in Jean Paul Gaultier. But — no disrespect to Gaultier — with Naomi, the dress doesn’t matter.
Nicole Kidman in Givenchy: Kidman’s beauty look was perfect. Her dress, Clare Waight Keller’s first major red-carpet outing for her new employer Givenchy — and her first couture creation — proved an impressive surprise, especially after Waight Keller’s less-than-stellar debut collection in October.
Mary J. Blige in Alberta Ferretti: Blige went where few dared venture — the glam diva route. She pulled it off brilliantly, in a sexy, velvet-and-mesh number that was a bit of a surprise from Alberta Ferretti.
Kendall Jenner in Giambattista Valli: A major model in a huge fluff explosion only a major model could pull off, but cut away by Giambatista Valli to show some leg. What’s not to love?