From the Runways to the Grammys

The 63rd Annual Grammy Awards air on CBS this Sunday at 8 p.m. “Music’s Biggest Night” recognizes the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the year, running from September 1, 2019, through August 31, 2020. It will be hosted by Trevor Noah live from the Los Angeles Convention Center in front of a limited audience. Still, they will use other venues for the reading of nominations and announcement of winners in various categories. Some performances will be live, and some will be prerecorded.

As a tribute to music venues that have suffered this past year financially, winners will be announced by club owners, bartenders, and box office managers of live music institutions from across the country, including The Troubadour, The Apollo Theater, and The Station Inn.

If the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards are any indications, the lack of a traditional red carpet will not cramp anyone’s style. In fact, the apparent limitations caused by the pandemic have inspired many to take risks and be bold. You can bet no star in the world will let a good outfit go to waste. At the Globes, Rosamund Pike made sure that every inch of her humongous Molly Goddard red tulle confection was in full view as she was shown walking down a hallway and then sitting on an ottoman.

I selected 10 women; each one is a 2021 Grammy Award nominee. In a few cases, they will also be performing. I show how they dressed at a past event, and then I chose something sensational that I would like to see them wear at the Grammys, where, traditionally, anything and everything goes. All my selections are from the virtual fall 2021 collections which wrapped up in Paris on Wednesday. While there are many points of view, one message that reverberates loud and clear is that after a year in lockdown, it’s time to get dressed!

Beyonce leads the pack as the top-nominated artist, and she did not even put out a new album last year. Beyonce’s fashion choices are well thought out and a big part of the whole picture. Queen B gravitates to ultra-feminine, curve-revealing designs, and she looks stunning in white. I think Rick Owens’ couture quality, asymmetrical white sequined gown, is perfect…literally fit for a Queen.

Taylor Swift’s seventh performance on the Grammy telecast is her first in five years. She is widely expected to win Album of the Year for the third time with her hit album Folklore. Taylor is a fashion chameleon, and she is young, tall, and thin enough to pull almost anything off, like this Balmain mirrored mini she wore to the 2018 AMAs. Taylor has another softer, more romantic side, and I can easily see Swift wearing this romantic fairytale-like Dior gown strewn with roses.

Cardi B in 2018 became the first female rapper with three Hot 100 singles cracking into the No. 1 spot. Cardi is both a nominee and a performer on Sunday. She loves to be outrageous and camp it up. Cardi B on the half shell was the 2019 Grammys’ most unforgettable red-carpet fashion moment. Still, nothing is more “rapper chic” than Schiaparelli’s over-sized gold, black, and white plaid jacket accented with a gold’ nipple’, and accessorized with masses of gold chains with sculptural, surrealist charms.

Dua Lipa was named Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards in 2019. She is among the most-nominated acts at this 63rd Grammys ceremony, where she is up for six prizes, including record, song, and album (“Future Nostalgia”) of the year. Lipa is being heralded as a new superstar. The English singer, songwriter, and former model signed on as Puma ambassador in 2020. She has many different sides and wears fashion well. Dolce & Gabbana’s crystal-embellished jacket and silver jeans are appropriately modern, hip, cool, and there’s nothing at all nostalgic about it.

Billie Eilish cleaned up at the 2020 Grammy Awards. She was clad head to toe in Gucci, eerily down to the pre-Covid face mask (the ceremony took place on January 26). Eilish won five of the six awards she was nominated for, including the night’s four biggest prizes. Billie is back in the running with four Grammy nods, including the song of the year, “Everything I wanted”. When it comes to her style, Eilish is known for wearing anything she wants as long as it’s baggy so that nobody knows what’s underneath, and she can retain an air of mystery. Roksanda’s colorful silk printed over shirt, pajama pants, and matching oversized scarf checks all the boxes and would also complement Billie’s green and black hair.

Lady Gaga is a nominee in two categories: Best Pop Duo/Group Performance in “Rain on Me” with Ariane Grande, and Best Pop Vocal Album for “Chromatica”. On Sunday, will Gaga channel her role as Maurizio Gucci’s ex-wife in “The House of Gucci? Or will she be a vision in Daniel Roseberry for Schiaparelli as she was for the Inauguration? The newly brunette Gaga always likes to surprise. A show-stopping yet surprising choice would be Matthew Williams for Givenchy’s floor-length gown covered in oversized ombre paillettes, worn beneath a black wool jacket. It’s industrial-looking yet glamourous.

Ariane Grande won her first Grammy in 2019 for Best Pop Vocal Album for her fourth studio album, Sweetener. In 2019 Grande was named as the face of Givenchy. Before the full-skirted Givenchy gown she wore for her 2020 Grammy performance, Grande walked the red carpet in a custom gray Giambattista Valli gown. The petite (5’1”) star loves those Cinderella moments, but this year I would suggest going in a completely different direction. Halpern’s long-sleeved, high neck multi-colored sequined mini dress is young, fresh, and fun.

Renee Zellweger’s name is not usually among the Grammy nominees but she is this year. The 2020 Oscar winning actress was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album category for her work on the Judy album. Renee has a well-toned body; sculpted arms and fabulous gams and she likes to put them on display. Zellweger’s style is usually minimal and chic but I would love to see her in something more edgy than what she usually wears. Sukeina’s cap-sleeve neoprene dress has flared hips. The color is wonderful. It is dubbed the “Kamala Dress” according to Omar Salam who says it was inspired by Madame Vice-President. It’s a a modern way to look and it would suit the star very well.

Meryl Streep is a three-time Oscar winner and three-time Emmy winner, but she doesn’t have a Grammy or a Tony yet. This just might be the year she crosses Grammy off that list since she earned a nomination for Best Spoken Word Album for a recording of the children’s classic “Charlotte’s Web.” This is actually Streep’s sixth nomination, and almost all of those have been for children’s audiobooks. Meryl does not have one identifiable fashion persona, but relaxed tailoring suits her especially well. I think Streep would look great in Peter Do’s perfectly cut black trousers and cropped jacket. The pronounced feather pin adds a festive exclamation mark.

Peter Do showed on March 8, long after New York Fashion Week. It is “Just a love letter to New York by night,” says the designer. With its versatile, wearable pieces, and a perfect mix of fantasy and reality, it is one of my favorite collections this season. The American Couturier Ralph Rucci agrees. As he told me, “I think Do is the foremost, young, original thinker in international design. He is developing his own style with taste and controlled originality.”

Photo Credits: Runway photos Vogue.com