LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The big fashion names were there on the Screen Actors Guild red carpet — almost as if it were the Oscars. But the gowns from Marchesa, Balenciaga, Valentino and Givenchy were just a little bit more fun and flirty, comfortable and flowing than you’ll likely see at the serious and more formal Academy Awards next month, keeping with the vibe that the SAGs are more of a celebration of the acting craft than a competition among A-listers.
Viola Davis wore a Grecian silk chiffon Marchesa gown with antique gold detailing. “The white against my dark skin. The gold, it made me feel very elegant, sexy and it’s comfortable,” explained Davis Sunday night.
Also wearing Marchesa was Colombian bombshell Sofia Vergara, in a custom-made magenta strapless fitted mermaid gown. George Clooney’s girlfriend Stacy Kiebler, was another fan of the house with her black lace fishtail number.
Angelina Jolie kept her look simple in a black, cowl-neck draped gown by British designer Jenny Packham. She paired it with vintage jewelry. “I don’t often wear it, and I liked these pieces when I saw them,” she said.
Glenn Close also went with black. “I love it because it’s Zac Posen,” Close said, noting a link between the tafetta-and-tulle gown and her nominated film, “Albert Nobbs.”
“I think it has intonations of a Victorian dress, because ‘Albert Nobbs’ takes place in Victorian Ireland. Because Prince Albert had died, Queen Victoria always wore black so a lot of people wore black and also this same material,” she said. “So I feel comfortable and fabulous.”
Julianna Margulies wore a label she had been longing to wear for a while: Calvin Klein. It was a fitted, embroidered strapless dress in a shade of dove grey that looked almost white. “I’ve never worn Calvin Klein and I love the fabric and the way it just flowed down. It’s comfortable and I thought it was pretty,” Margulies said.
Berenice Bejo also beamed in her ivory-coloured beaded Ralph Lauren gown, and Tilda Swinton wore a white pleated Lanvin dress.
Michelle Williams, who has played it fairly demure on the red carpet lately, though, went bold in a red Valentino with red lace sleeves.
