The Golden Globes red carpet always pretends it’s just a warm-up. A little practise run before the “serious” gowns arrive later in the season. And yet, every January, it’s the Globes that sets the mood.
This year felt sharper. You could see it the second the cameras hit the carpet outside the Beverly Hilton. Less “look at me”. More “I know exactly what I’m doing.” Even the risks had control. Even the sparkle had purpose. The men, meanwhile, mostly did what men do when they get nervous and start thinking about memes. They went black tie. Lots of it. The Guardian called it the return of the staid black suit, and honestly, that’s about right.
But the interesting bit wasn’t the sameness. It was the moments where someone stepped slightly sideways and made everybody else look a bit… undercooked.
That’s what this piece is about. Not “best dressed” in the boring, checkbox way. More like: who made the room pause? Who made fashion people zoom in? Who made the rest of us text a mate, “Have you seen this?”
So, if you are searching for the celebrity best style moments at Golden Globes 2026, which were held on January 11, consider this the proper, lived-in version.
Wunmi Mosaku Canary Yellow Outfit
Wunmi Mosaku didn’t just wear colour. She used it.
She arrived in a bespoke canary yellow gown by Matthew Reisman, topped with a sheer veil that moved every time she turned her head. On photos, it reads like a clean, golden flash. In real life, it’s warmer, almost like a stage light. The sort of yellow that can look cheap if the fabric’s wrong. This wasn’t.
What made it stick was the meaning she attached to it. She told Vogue the shade was a tribute to a Yoruba proverb, “Iya ni Wúrà” (Mother is golden). That detail turned the look from “nice dress” into something you remember. A fashion choice with roots.
Jessie Buckley in Dior
Jessie Buckley wore Dior by Jonathan Anderson, and it did what good red carpet fashion should do. It started an argument.
Ice blue. Asymmetric. Flower-dotted satin details. A shape that looked almost calm from the front, then slightly strange when she shifted. It was as if the gown had its own opinion. British Vogue clocked her as a major standout, and Vogue’s red carpet coverage leaned into how much attention that debut Dior era is getting.
Some people loved it. Some people didn’t get it. That’s a win, by the way. Nobody talks about a gown that pleases everyone.
Ariana Grande’s Black Raffia Organza Corseted Gown
Ariana Grande in Vivienne Westwood sounds like it could go wrong fast. Too costumey and too “I’m doing British heritage now.”
But she went for a custom black raffia organza corseted gown that felt grown up. Properly built. You could almost picture the seamwork under the fabric, the way a corset changes posture. She looked like she could breathe but also like she couldn’t slouch even if she tried.
It landed because it wasn’t trying to be cute. It was controlled. That’s why it worked.
Emily Blunt in a Louis Vuitton Gown
Emily Blunt has never needed a gimmick. She also knows when to keep it clean.
She wore a white Louis Vuitton gown with an asymmetric line and a cape detail, then finished it with Tiffany & Co. jewellery. That’s it. No chaos and no clutter. HELLO! praised the overall poise of the look, and it’s the sort of thing you can imagine ageing well in photos.
Cape dressing can make you look like you’re playing a superhero. This looked like you arrived, you’ve got your drink, and you’re not stressing.
Aimee Lou Wood in Black Gown
Aimee Lou Wood also wore Vivienne Westwood, but her take was totally different to Ariana’s.
She went for a demure, Gilded Age-inspired black gown. Classic tailoring energy, not punk. It suited her, and it suited the moment, because the night had a lot of black already. Her look didn’t fight that. It made it feel intentional.
It was one of those outfits that doesn’t scream. It just sits perfectly.
Teyana Taylor High-fashion Drama
Now, if you wanted drama, you got it from Teyana Taylor.
She wore Schiaparelli haute couture, sculptural and midnight black, with a deep back and a detail that had everyone doing double takes. The Guardian’s photo gallery made her one of the faces of the carpet, and she was impossible to ignore.
Here’s the thing about Schiaparelli on a red carpet. It can eat the person wearing it. Taylor didn’t get eaten. She drove it.
And as a quick reality check, she also won on the night, so yes, that whole “main character” vibe had actual backing.
Jennifer Lawrence’s Sheer look
Jennifer Lawrence wore Givenchy by Sarah Burton and went sheer. Not a gentle sheer either. The “nearly nude” sort that makes headlines before the ceremony even starts. Vogue UK straight up called it almost nude, and the look was one of the most talked about of the night.
But the bit people keep missing is the styling choice that softened it. She paired it with an extra layer, a modern cover-up vibe that made the whole thing feel less like shock and more like design.
It wasn’t a “naked dress for the sake of it”. It was “I know you’re looking, so I’m going to control what you see.”
Selena Gomez’s Black Velvet Bustier Dress
Selena Gomez chose a custom black velvet and silk organza bustier dress embroidered with white flowers in feathers and silk organza. And yes, this is actually one of the few times where the time spent matters. HELLO! reported that her gown took 323 hours to make.
When a dress is worked on, you can usually see it in the finished product. The detailing doesn’t wobble. The shape doesn’t collapse under flash photography. It holds.
She had the beauty of a classic movie star, but not in a rigid way. More like a person who understands that the camera does not forgive, and so came prepared.
Timothée Chalamet, “Black Tie”
The men mostly played it safe. Timothée Chalamet still played, even while staying in black.
He arrived in an all-black Chrome Hearts look with a vest and trousers, plus Timberland boots, accessorised with Cartier sparkles. The Guardian called it a way of setting the tone for the night’s sombre palette, and that’s what it felt like.
It wasn’t a traditional tuxedo. It also wasn’t trying too hard. It sat in that sweet spot where you can tell someone had fun, but they didn’t lose the plot.
And because the Globes always mixes fashion with narrative, it helped that he was having a massive night overall, winning Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy. People Magazine covered the behind-the-scenes celebration right after.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas Wears Dior
Priyanka Chopra Jonas wore Dior, and it leaned into that “New Look” kind of shape, but updated.
Midnight blue satin and a structured bubble hem. And a sapphire choker moment that framed the whole thing. Vogue India included her in its best-dressed coverage, and the look photographed beautifully because the silhouette did the work.
Some dresses rely on sparkle. This relied on shape. You can’t fake that.
The Designers Who Stood Out
After a carpet like this, it’s tempting to talk only about the people wearing the clothes. But the real power move often happens earlier, in a fitting room with bad lighting and a stressed-out assistant steaming a hem. Designers don’t just “dress” celebrities. They shape the whole mood of the night, even when nobody says their name out loud.
This year, a few houses clearly had the most fingerprints on the carpet.
Vivienne Westwood was everywhere, and not in a copy-and-paste way. Ariana Grande’s custom black corseted look leaned into Westwood’s sculpture and structure, while Aimee Lou Wood’s gown felt more traditional and quietly British. Same label, two totally different energies. That’s when you know a house isn’t just a trend. It’s a proper toolkit.
Dior had a louder kind of presence, mainly because people were watching closely. Jessie Buckley’s ice-blue gown by Jonathan Anderson didn’t feel like a “safe Dior.” It felt like a designer testing the room. That’s the sort of debut moment that gets editors leaning forward, because it hints at where the brand might head next.
Chanel also had one of those nights where you clock it without trying. Now under the creative direction of Matthieu Blazy, the house has traded its sometimes-rigid heritage for a softer, more meticulous kind of luxury.
Selena Gomez, in a black velvet bustier with handmade feather and organza flowers, and Ayo Edebiri in a velvet look with pearl accents, both played into that house style of patience and detail.
Not showy. Just expensive-looking in a way that’s hard to fake. When a carpet is full of fast fashion energy, Chanel always stands out by doing the opposite.
Louis Vuitton did what it often does at award shows. It gave one clean, strong silhouette that people didn’t get tired of looking at. Emily Blunt’s white gown with the cape detail proved that minimal doesn’t mean plain. It means you can’t hide behind extras, so the cut has to be right.
Then there were the designers who didn’t dress the most people but still stole attention because the look was so specific. Matthew Reisman on Wunmi Mosaku is the obvious example.
That canary yellow gown didn’t just pop; it had meaning, and that pushed it into “moment” territory. And Schiaparelli’s Teyana Taylor reminded everyone why couture still matters. Even if it makes half the internet argue for 48 hours. Especially then.
If you had to sum it up in one sentence, it’s this. The night wasn’t owned by one label. It was owned by designers who can handle two things at once: a clear point of view and the discipline to stop before it turns into a costume.
So yeah, the celebs got photographed. But the designers? They got the last laugh.
So What Was the Real Trend This Year?
If you want the headline, it’s this: restraint came back, and it wasn’t a boring kind, such as “everyone wear beige”. More like a move away from frantic trend chasing. A lot of looks felt archival, tailored, and built. Pieces that could sit in a fashion book without screaming “2026!” in neon.
Even Vogue UK pointed out how tricky the Globes’ timing is – early January, tight turnarounds, limited runway access – and how that pressure forces stylists to be intuitive. You could feel that intuition this year. Less panic. More decision-making.
And the men? They mostly hid in black suits, exactly like The Guardian said. But hey, at least they looked tidy.
The best part of Celebrity best style moments at Golden Globes 2026 wasn’t any single dress. It was the sense that people stopped dressing for shock and started dressing for impact again.
Now, be honest. Which look are you still thinking about, and which one are you pretending you didn’t hate?
Sources and References
- The Guardian: March of the Penguins: Golden Globes 2026 Red Carpet Marks the Return of the Staid Black Suit. Confirms the “staid black suit” trend for men and names Wunmi Mosaku’s yellow gown as the night’s standout.
- Vogue UK: Wunmi Mosaku on Her Golden Globes 2026 Pregnancy Reveal and the Meaning Behind Her Gown. The primary source for the “Iya ni Wúrà” (Mother is golden) quote and the Yoruba proverb context.
- HELLO! Magazine: Golden Globes 2026: The Secrets Behind Selena Gomez and Emily Blunt’s Red Carpet Gowns. Confirms the 323-hour craftsmanship for Selena Gomez’s Chanel and the “poise” review of Emily Blunt.
- British Vogue: Red Carpet Review: Jonathan Anderson’s Dior Debut and the Blazy Era at Chanel. Provides the professional analysis of Jessie Buckley in Dior and the shift to Matthieu Blazy at Chanel.
- L’Officiel USA: Jennifer Lawrence Bares It All in ‘Naked’ Givenchy at the 2026 Golden Globes. Details the “almost nude” floral embroidery and the styling of her Sarah Burton-designed Givenchy look.
