The performative male was over at the 2026 Golden Globes, where even risk-takers like Timothée Chalamet, Jacob Elordi and Jeremy Allen White did little to temper the black tie stuffiness.
Timothée Chalamet was the final clue. As he arrived in good time on the Golden Globes red carpet, the star of Marty Supreme put pay to speculation as to whether the chromatic marketing of the film's ping pong balls would have him wearing orange. Instead, he wore a black T-shirt; vest, jacket and Timberland boots with silver buttons by Chrome Hearts, souped up with a five-figure Cartier necklace. Kylie Jenner, his partner and sartorial foil, was nowhere to be seen. The reaction was generous, and broadly uncritical. Still, if we thought the penguin suit had gone extinct, we were wrong. The performative male is over - welcome to the return of the staid black suit.
There were exceptions, but it was down to the women. Bella Ramsey wore a Prada suit tied with a pink bow that was positively shocking. At her very first Golden Globes, Chalamet’s co-star Odessa A’zion went for a monochromatic trouser suit of sorts with a froufrou vintage Dolce & Gabbana jacket and satin gloves. A nice bit of era-dressing came from Sinners star Miles Caton’s chestnut pinstripe suit by Amiri. Still, the usual flies in the ointment - Jacob Elordi, Colman Domingo and Jeremy Allen White - towed the line in contemporary twists on ye olde tux by Bottega Veneta, Valentino and Louis Vuitton respectively. Between them, Globes newbie Dwayne Johnson and red carpet veteran Leonardo DiCaprio did little to temper the black tie stuffiness.
Perhaps colour was the problem as black reigned supreme among women, too. Aimee Lou Wood in demure Vivienne Westwood looked straight from the Gilded Age. Best supporting actor winner Teyana Taylor opted for a cut out Schiaparelli dress flashing numerous body parts, albeit in inky black. Ayo Edebiri’s gorgeous black velvet panelled off-the-shoulder gown by new Chanel under Matthieu Blazy pushed classicism forward, but still felt alarmingly safe. Even the KPop Demon Hunters team, who won a for a song called Golden, wore all black.
To that end, moments of colour – when they happened – were all the more precious. There was a welcome flash of metallic from Elle Fanning, whose sparkly, embroidered Gucci gown looked very silver screen glamourpuss. Emily Blunt wore a perkily white asymmetric, one sleeve gown by Louis Vuitton, while Amanda Seyfried was a modern day Venus de Milo in white Versace.
The standout look was perhaps Wunmi Mosaku, the British Nigerian star of Sinners. The canary yellow of her bespoke gown and sheer veil by Matthew Reisman was a colour steeped in meaning. "In Yoruba, we say Iya ni Wúrà which means 'mother is golden'," she wrote in Vogue.
Historically, the red carpet is as much a venue for self expression as it is for showcasing the great fashion-celebrity industrial complex. But it's also a peek at the trends of tomorrow. To that end, newly minted designers Jessie Buckley trialled Jonathan Anderson's Dior in an ice blue asymmetric gown; Tessa Thompson wore a custom sequined column from Balenciaga by Pierpaolo Piccioli and Rose Byrne wore emerald green Chanel by Matthieu Blazy.
If the peanut gallery were disappointed by the lack of peacocking, the insiders were not. Esquire UK's style director Zak Maoui told the Guardian: "I believe the industry has made a slight shift back to nice regular clothing for men on red carpets. Men are starting to see power again in a well-executed and expertly-cut suit."
"It might reflect a wider sentiment in menswear, whereby the catwalks aren't as flash or hype-y, and brands are presenting more subdued, wearable clothing."
The devil - and the brand deals - were as ever in the details. Several "ICE OUT" and "BE GOOD" pins were worn by attendees, including Mark Ruffalo. In a world in which wearing a watch as part of your deal has become a foregone conclusion, it was a moment of political reprieve from a largely staid sartorial circus.