Maddie Zeigler and Sia

Did you catch the Sam Smith show with special guest Beck on Sunday night? The awards show formerly known as the 57th Grammys featuring Smith’s four wins plus Beck’s three made for victors who were about as diverse as Sia’s huge face obscuring wig.

Madonna

Black ruled as far as red carpet fashion went and relatively sedate was the name of the game. Certainly there was nothing like the famed J.Lo Versace or the Lil’ Kim pasty and in fact there are now Grammy dress codes restricting that type of attire. Naturally there can be no awards show without plunging necklines; thanks to Nicki Minaj and Lady Gaga who courted wardrobe malfunctions with major boobage displays; and even some “bass” in the form of one flashed 56-year-old derriere & (no thanks, Madonna) who also had her breasts hoisted up and on the half shell.  The Material Girl uhh woman lifted the back of her Givenchy Couture matador costume on the red carpet for the world to kiss her assets however all I could think of was that we’d seen this look from her before. Flash back to her Marc Jacobs/Louis Vuitton bunny eared costume at the 2009 Met Gala which shared a certain sensibility and was accessorized similarly; from the over-the-knee boots to the ridiculous headgear. I’ll trade you a sparkly veiled matador hat for the bunny ears?

Rihanna

Besides some over emphasized body parts,  others seemed to have gone AWOL. For example, Sia’s eyes were hidden under the previously mentioned exaggerated Andy Warhol or is that a Maltese wig (this year’s answer to Pharrell’s hat) perhaps making it necessary to employ her similarly wig clad but less visually impaired young dancer Maddie Zeigler as her “seeing eye kid.” Kim Kardashian appeared to be missing her hands which were swallowed up in a too big sparkly gold Jean Paul Gaultier robe. Was she auditioning to play both Snow White and Dopey?

Gwen Stefani

Gwen Stefani pranced by in an Atelier Versace black jumpsuit with intricate beadwork and netting at the top and I did not immediately recognize her because she was missing her trademark red lips! Gwen in a nude lip definitely threw me for a loop however she looked quite youthful.  Lo and behold when she performed during the show in a red gown the red lips were back. Likewise Beyonce wore very minimal makeup and very long hair extensions in a black sheer lace gown making her less immediately recognizable. It became apparent during her Grammy performance that she was channeling her inner white clad angel making it important to eschew her usual heavy eye makeup for her gospel-like performance. To think that last year she was rolling around in a black corseted bodysuit during her raunchy performance of “Drunk In Love”… I guess that’s what keeps the “Beyhive” buzzing.

Jessie J and Tom Jones

Singers and besties Rihanna and Katy Perry snatched their dresses directly off the Haute Couture runway in Paris and there may not have been time for alterations. Katy’s Zuhair Murad crystal beaded knee length dress was more manageable and actually fit her however Riri’s look was literally a show stopper. She was the last celeb attendee to get out of her limo, tugging up her dress as she alit from the vehicle. I actually would have liked to see how she got it in there in the first place! She ended up walking the red carpet as Ryan Seacrest was furiously trying to wrap up E!’s”Live From The Red Carpet” which made for one of many awkward moments. The Giambattista Valli dress, a ginormous hot pink creation proved impossible to sit in but made it totally possible to ID RiRi as the camera panned to an overhead shot in the Staples Center. Of course, many social media memes quickly appeared likening the dress to everything from what would be worn by a girl celebrating her Quinceañera , to a shower loofa, a spool of cotton candy, a snowball cupcake or my personal favorite: a pink badminton shuttlecock.

Katy Perry

On the red carpet Katy mentioned to Ryan that although she picked her dress because she wanted to “shine bright like a diamond” (and appropriate her friend’s lyrics) she was tired from binge watching “Transparent”; quite apropos since transparent was a word that described many of the dresses. The most successful sheer black dress was a Ralph & Russo creation on Jessie J which fit her beautifully. She performed in a nude dress with black cording applique but something seemed to be wrong with the under layer resulting in it looking like a bandage across her chest as she teamed up for “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling” with Tom Jones. Speaking of bandages, TJ must have succumbed to Kenny Roger’s eyelid surgeon giving him the same constantly startled appearance as the country crooner. Jones and Jessie J who had previously performed together when she was a coach on the Brit version of The Voice, were one of two duets along with Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett (who’ve done an entire album of standards together) featuring a creepy vision of a much younger woman singing a romantic song with a guy old enough to be their grandfather. Ewww!

Charli XCX

Picking up some desperately needed color in the sea of monochromatic fashion were Taylor Swift who matched her eye color and earrings (IMO, would have preferred contrasting earrings) to her Elie Saab turquoise to blue ombre high low dress with purple platform sandals, and Iggy Azalea in a royal blue Armani Prive clingy gown which although it fit her well and looked good, did not seem to suit her usual rapper chick persona. Then again, the inexplicably gigantic braid sitting smack on top of her head like a crown could have been the culprit. Singer Charli XCX livened up the red carpet with what she termed her “Eighties look” of a white silk satin tuxedo, pink bowtie and pale pink fur stole all created by Jeremy Scott of Moschino. No doubt, Mr. Scott must share KP’s tired after creating all four of her Super Bowl outfits;(she changed every three minutes); but he always has a sense of humor for fashion.

Prince

As the show dragged on I began to grow impatient waiting for that “WOW” fashion moment that I hoped was still out there. Jane Fonda in her bright green clingy ’70s era, gold fringed necklaced jumpsuit came close but she was soon upstaged by another legendary performer. In a shiny tangerine orange pajama outfit, long necklace, and requisite cane, this presenter gave out the last award for Album of the Year to its unlikely recipient (Beck) and I swooned. Prince is definitely my winner for best dressed at the Grammys.

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The Grammy’s Hit a High Note

Katy Perry in Valentino Haute Couture spring 2014 musical note dress (Click on images for larger views)

Good taste / bad taste is the yin yang dichotomy that always exists in fashion. It is also highly subjective. Adding to the confusion, the word ‘bad’ (immortalized in Michael Jackson’s 1987 hit song “Bad”) actually means good in slang (as in, “that’s a BAD shirt”). But while the notion of what constitutes good taste vs. bad taste may well be up for grabs, within the confines of the entertainment industry (and particularly the music universe, which goes by its own style rules and over the top theatricality, and exaggeration are the norm), attention grabbing bad taste is almost to be expected… if not celebrated.  And as if to prove that injecting a dose of bad taste in order to shock and provoke can pay off, who could possibly forget Miley Cyrus cavorting with Robin Thicke onstage at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards? Quite frankly, that evening sort of cemented her star status and made her a household name.

Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards

If you’ve tuned into the plethora of music award shows (especially the American Music Awards, the Country Music Awards, and the MTV Music Awards), you already know that it’s fairly easy to separate the good, bad (and I mean BAD, not good LOL), and the just plain ugly. Speaking of which, the granddaddy of them all, the 56th Grammy Awards, aired on Sunday evening, and prior to that, many had a field day with pre Grammy articles and TV segments that were completely dedicated to the most outrageous Grammy fashions, during which time good taste was completely thrown out the window.

Included were Jennifer Lopez in a Versace gown that left almost nothing to the imagination at the Grammy’s in 2000; Toni Braxton at the 2001 Grammys in a white Richard Tyler dress that looked more like a ‘loincloth’; Lady Gaga making an entrance (at the Grammys in 2011) arriving in an egg carried by scantily clad men and women; Nicki Minaj at the 2012 Grammies, dressed as a nun, with a pope as her accessory.

Beyonce and J Z

Alas, there was nothing quite as lastingly ‘memorable’ last night (it was truly about the music after all). Fashion wise, it was a real mixed bag. I loved the tongue in cheek whimsy and sense of humor displayed by Katy Perry in her choice of Valentino Haute Couture musical dress from spring 2014 (it was almost literally right off the Paris runway). When I initially saw images of it, I knew someone would wear it, and how appropriate. For the record, I hated her stiff overly retro “updo” (she should have worn her
hair in a sleek ponytail).

Taylor Swift in Gucci

Taylor Swift (who is beautiful, has the body of a supermodel, and can wear anything), always gets it right at these award shows, and I loved her silver chain mail Gucci (it, had the simplicity of an elongated t shirt). She changed into a pale gray chiffon dress with swooping skirt and beaded detail, for her performance and then changed back again when she was seated. Beyonce, who skipped the red carpet because she (along with hubby Jay Z) was the opening act, was dressed (or should I say undressed), in a revealing black bodysuit with bondage straps, worn over fishnet stockings. Both the performance and her outfit were undeniably suggestive – so much so that many parents were up in arms about its appropriateness for a televised show.

Madonna and eight year old son David dressed in Ralph Lauren

By the way, she was another one who made a change of outfits (she did a complete about face, switching into a body hugging white see through lace long dress when she took her seat). Pink looked great in strapless red (she admitted she never wears the color). Music legend Cyndy Lauper chose a short black Alexander McQueen cape with massive gold necklace, worn over narrow black pants. Pregnant Ciara was glowing in a narrow gold beaded floor length gown by Peter Dundas for Emilio Pucci. And then there was Madonna and Child (her adorable 8 year old son David) wearing matching dandy pantsuits. Her smile revealed shiny ‘grilles’ (her son gleefully gold reporters he was getting a set himself). She made a change for her performance, sticking with the natty pantsuit idea, but opting for all white, down to the cowboy hat and exposed garters (it’s the Grammy’s after all).

-Marilyn Kirschner














Hats Off to the 56th Grammys

Pharrell vs Harry

With no Gaga, no Riri…hell, not even Cher, it seems that, for some, the highlight of the 56th Grammy Awards was an accessory sitting atop  Pharrell Williams’s head!  Ok, it was an impressively bizarre choice–half from the uniform of a Canadian Mountie, half  Harry Potter Hogwart’s sorting variety, but still, it’s a damn hat!  It doesn’t deserve a Twitter account!  Stop doing that, People!  Sample  tweets include “Arby’s called.  They want their hat back.”

Beyonce serious bling

The show began with Beyonce in a flashdance-esque heavily bleeped lyrics routine to “Drunk In Love” (wet hair and all) in a sheer black bodysuit with collar and a turning chair.  She was eventually joined by hubby Jay Z in a Tom Ford tux as the power couple showed us their steamy moves.  Later she changed to a white, lace-in-all-the strategic places, Michael Costello (go Project Runway alum!) gown to great effect complete with bling on every finger.  I suppose she had to make up for her underwhelming Grammy ensemble last year of a black and white color blocked jumpsuit and to that end (yes, her rump looked amazing in the white gown) she was successful.  Also in white, Katy Perry in a Valentino  full skirted musical note embellished gown which had just walked the Spring shows runway.

Paula Patton

On a less successful (non-musical) note, Paris Hilton in an uncomfortably high-necked, nude side paneled gown resembling a longer version of an Ice Capades dress.  Most improved from the Golden Globes goes to Paula Patton in a zebra sequined gown featuring two animal heads at the bustline. It may have been a little too much zebra print but at least it was interesting in a Cavalli-esque way. Other than Taylor Swift in her usual award show get-up of sparkly silver, this time it was a Gucci chain-mail “suit of armor” as she described it and added that it was “very scratchy” (not sure Gucci will like that description) there was not a lot to talk about with the women’s attire.  It seems, inexplicably, that what inspired me most was the menswear (no, not Madonna’s Ralph Lauren suit) but what was actually on the men!

Jared Leto “30 Seconds To Mars”

Ah, men…here we go!    Loved Miguel in Saint Laurent complete with shiny pants…this is how you do Grammy chic!  Also Jared Leto and his band “30 Seconds to Mars” all looked incredible and event appropriate.  Macklemore and Ryan Lewis went the velvet tux route but Macklemore’s was teal with a white shirt and black bow tie while Lewis was in a really eye-catching large scale gray and black hounds tooth print which worked really well with a black shirt and tie to tone it down.  Robin Thicke in dark blue Armani velvet also got the memo.  In the all shiny black tux/ shirt/ tie department there was Marc Anthony (dark shades, too) and Gavin DeGraw in a three- piece Varvatos tux as well as his signature hat (this time it was black embossed leather) and white shoes.  Why the white scuffed shoes?  “Cause something’s gotta be not quite right” he added.  Steven Tyler decided to do an all-white tux/tails ensemble complete with multi-colored hair in pigtails but then again, its Steven Tyler.

Best couple other than the obvious king and queen of the night (Bey and Jay) would go to Wiz Khalifa also sporting a YSL velvet tux and his wife and Kanye’s ex, Amber Rose who covered up all her body art (tattoos) in gold Naeem Khan for the evening.  Who says the Grammys can’t be classy?  Now if we could just get Pharrell’s hat to stop tweeting!

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