Mistakes were made

Fashion failures on the 2017 Grammy red carpet

By Brittney MacDonald, Life & Style Editor

The red carpet for an awards show is generally my favourite part of the show. Yes, the musical numbers and the excitement of cheering for your top picks is always nice—but nothing beats witnessing the birth of future trends as celebrities of all shapes and sizes step out to impress. Unfortunately, sometimes these shooting stars fall a little flat.

February 12 was the Grammys, an awards show where artists don’t have to crumble to the pressures of formality, and instead can play a little more with their fashion choices.  Some did this amazingly well—people like Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, and Demi Lovato managed to pull off daring, impressive looks that had the crowds swooning—but others didn’t fare so well.

Looking beyond the obviously hideous—such as whatever McDonald’s playroom nightmare inspired Girl Crush’s ill-fitting ball-pit skirt—let’s instead examine wrong shape or silhouette choices.

First up was Adele. Now, I would normally find Adele’s aesthetic to be elegant, classic, and over-all quite chic. This pea green Givenchy gown, however, did not live up to that high standard. It’s not that the gown itself wasn’t beautiful; it was just the wrong choice for Adele. The problem here lies in the bust. Adele is a very well-endowed woman in this area, and the criss-crossing seams mixed with the checkerboard pattern and the high neckline simply added more volume. This added volume could have then been balanced out with an A-line or a fuller skirt, but it wasn’t. So instead, the over-all effect made her look even more top-heavy than she already is. The point of paying attention to things like shape and silhouette is that it is all a matter of proportions—you want to look proportionate, so you find fashion that will trick the eye into seeing you as such. This gown would have worked very well on someone with a smaller bust, or someone who is pear-shaped, where they are larger on the bottom than they are on top.

My next pick for fashion failures might be a bit controversial, considering that she has made it onto numerous best-dressed lists. My only explanation for this is that people like shiny things… and Beyoncé. Solange Knowles was able to pick up her first Grammy in a gold Gucci gown. It sounds like a dream come true, except for the fact that this gown is probably one of the most confusing things to ever be worn on a body. Problem number one: there is no shape to the dress except for what is created by the odd fan-texture of the fabric—and that is limited to the sleeve. On Knowles this isn’t a huge issue, because she is incredibly thin, but on anyone else it would prove a big problem. The second problem is almost in contradiction to the first. This dress has a peplum. A peplum is a short overskirt at the bottom of a shirt or jacket. Generally, the shirt or jacket is heavily structured and the peplum becomes a means of softening, or feminizing the look—but as I said before, this dress has no structure. Peplums also have a secondary function, which is to disguise a gut. Being as this dress cannot be worn by anyone who isn’t bone-rail thin; this peplum has no purpose. Instead, all it is doing is eliminating any possibility of a flattering shape. What you’re left with is layers upon layers of fabric that is literally swallowing Solange Knowles whole, and eating her.