Our weekly look at the stunningly beautiful and beautifully ugly celebrity ensembles that set the group chat alight.
Best gown
A dream 80s prom dress, made in baby pink taffeta with a crocodile leather bow and silk rosettes. Florence Pugh has true movie star energy and always carries these flouncy dramatic gowns so well, without making them look fussy. The hair, complete with regrowth, is also fantastic. – Zoe Walker Ahwa
Best Game of Thrones-core
Thrilled to see that Chappell Roan appears – like myself – to have just finished Game of Thrones for the first time. Extremely into her dressing like the illicit love child of Sansa Stark (hair donor), Daenerys Targaryen (dress donor) and Jamie Lannister (sword donor). I love a nice little black dress as much as the next person, but this is the VMAs. Give me drama! Give me theatre! Give me a random man in leather rolling out an old carpet for Chappell to stand on! Give me sword-inspired nails you can’t go to the bathroom in! Give me a Chappell in shining armour! The world is pretty bleak right now, so it’s nice to indulge in a little mediaeval reverie. Let us return instead to the fantastical times of yore where people lopped someone’s head off for looking at them weirdly. – Georgie Wright
Best low-key glamour
Lisa from Blackpink is entering her solo era… in style. She wore four outfits to the VMAs, where she also performed, but it’s her red carpet custom Mugler that’s really hitting for me. The colour is SO beautiful on her and the drama created from that incredible draping around a corseted bodice is making my head hurt as I try to work out what’s cape, what’s gloves and what’s dress. I’m also very impressed this outfit is so clean and so un-creased; it’s flowing like liquid. Bonus points to her stylist Nan Nist for that impeccable attention to detail. – Rebecca Wadey
Best grannycore
Director Gia Coppola’s Valentino frock is exactly the type of high-necked, buttoned up, uptight vintage-inspired dress that I love. The white bow-adorned shoes feel a little literal retro, but still adore the vibe. Gia wore it for the premiere of The Last Showgirl, also at the Toronto film festival – a demure contrast to the flashy, Las Vegas-based film starring Pamela Anderson. – ZWA
Best knickers
It’s hard to articulate exactly why I like this look so much. I’ve started this sentence about 30 times trying to describe it. Ostensibly it’s kind of ugly: the shoes are giving school ball circa 2005, the tulle is nuts, the top reminds me of when you wear an old bra that squishes your boobs into a weird oblong shape. But that’s why it’s so great. It’s silly and outrageous and fun. Besides, the best celeb looks are the ones that only the wearer could pull it off. Which is the case with Addison here. She just has that kind of energy (dare I say rizz) that doesn’t take itself too seriously. She looks like she’s about to crash a wedding, chug three bottles of champagne and steal the wife away to a Greek island. And I respect that. – GW
Best Zoecore
I’ve featured DJ Harley Viera Newton in this column a number of times before; she is, for want of a better phrase, one of my style icons. And this outfit, head-to-toe Tory Burch for the Tory Burch show at New York Fashion Week, is one of the most ‘me’ looks I’ve seen: an A-line denim skirt (you can buy it here), plain top, hair bow, sensible shoes, a cat. Oh, and the millennial peace sign pose. – ZWA
Best bride
It’s not a miracle for a model who has walked for the biggest names in the business to look beautiful on a wedding day, but I’m obsessed with the ethereal beauty at play with Karen Elson here. Regular readers of this column will know how bereft I was when Pierpaolo Piccioli left Valentino, and when Alessandro Michele left Gucci. I wasn’t convinced when Alessandro was announced as the new creative director at Valentino but this romantic, lacy dress is giving me cautious optimism that everything will be okay. Extra points for the ‘something blue’ powder blue stitching detail that perfectly compliments her statement floral belt. Karen has been styled by Leith Clark who worked closely with the team at Valentino, and had her makeup done by Pat McGrath. Lucky, lucky bride. - RW
