Alberta
Alberta Ferretti
Ferretti didn't get a ton of placement, but it's also not a name we've heard that much and then suddenly at the Oscars she had four women in her gowns -- and three of them looked amazing, so much so that Fug Nation named Taraji its best-dressed of the telecast. Heidi Klum's feathered gown is maybe the best she's ever looked. The only clunker is Balfe's nightie. But the first three surely did a LOT of good PR work for her. The less said about Elizabeth Olsen at the Globes, the better.
Armani
Armani REALLY turned it up: Six of these gowns were at the Oscars, and there's one Huppert look I forgot to include (which isn't great; it's like she has a sheet wrapped around her waist). Armani's efforts on Naomie Harris at the Globes look that much better when you consider that she flopped elsewhere. Kidman's BAFTA gown might be my favorite on her ever, and I know her Oscar dress was divisive, but I loved it and think her makeup sealed it well. Viola's Oscar red is unimpeachable. Really, the only dings are Janelle Monae's unpopular, overly busy Globes dress, and Emma Roberts' two efforts. Even Sia is kinda working her custOm tangerine suit.
Christian Siriano
Issa Rae and Angela Bassett at the Globes were PERFECTION, as was Shannon "Barb" Purser at the SAGs and Michelle Rodriguez at the Oscars. Lucy Hale down there has on the much nicer version of Juliette Lewis's dress. Danielle Brooks's catastrophic SAGs pantsuit is the epic fail, and I didn't like Diane Guerrero's tulle shed, either, but many of you were rather fond. Still, on balance, Christian continues to deliver.
Givenchy
If my research is correct, Emma is Givenchy's only awards-season get. I'm putting her in here for a couple reasons. One, I liked the gold gown; two, I think the blazer on that post-party ensemble is cut totally perfectly, hanging EXACTLY where it needs to in order to be the star and ensure the slip dress is just the basic backdrop it was meant to be. But, Riccardo Tisci has left Givenchy, and while this was supposedly his final work, I think it also represents an important shift back to glamour from his lodgings on Planet Kardashia. Givenchy the brand needed this, so it was a big moment. We'll see if things keep up.
Jenny Packham
There wasn't a ton of buzz around any of these gowns, which is unusual for Jenny Packham, but when you take them together she actually had a very good run. Kristen Bell's is, for me, the star, but the colors on Viola Davis's BAFTA dress are also super fun.
Michael Kors
That yellow is smashing on Viola. In fact, everyone up until we get to Sienna is great, and her dress MIGHT have been okay if she hadn't completely whiffed on the terrible terrible hair. It's SO BAD. Sofia's just needs more lining, but it's close; Kerry's is the deadweight here.
Naeem Khan
This entire slide is bliss until poor Nikki Reed shows up. It just tried to do a bit too much.
Oscar de la Renta
Oscar is another brand that's been in creative turmoil, so a solid runway show followed by two breathtaking Oscar gowns equals a huge boost for the legendary house. Not everyone adored Brie's bodice, though I think it worked on her, but Ruth Negga won best-dressed for the post-parties. And rightly. That's as youthful as Oscar has ever been, while still retaining the glamour that is the house's hallmark.
Rodarte
Ahhh, Rodarte. I think that brand has done SO MANY heinous hodgepodge designs that it's hard to take it seriously. These two wonderful, pretty high-profile gets should help that, assuming they care.
WORST: Beginning with Alexander McQueen
And now we're tipping into contenders for who lost the biggest. Emily Blunt looks interesting and lovely, but I wasn't a huge fan of Kate's skirt, and Kidman and Hayek are too costumey on them. But for me, the real reason McQueen is in contention is that Emma Stone dress. It was a failure of design and a failure of Team Stone; she looked crazy at the podium with her award, which is a ridiculous oversight when you're costuming the odds-on favorite.
Calvin Klein
YOU HAD ONE JOB, CK. ONE. Raf Simons moved there from Dior, and... do not mess up Calvin Klein, dude.
Dior
Look how many people wore Dior. Now consider that Kirsten Dunst at the Oscars, in a gown based on a sixty-year old sketch, looks the best. This should tell Dior a lot. The new creative director needs to keep moving the brand away from Joe Boxer. What a waste of a good number of celebrities. And the Felicity Jones Oscars thing is inexcusable.
Elie Saab
Elie Saab is frequently one of the names people answer when asked, "Who would YOU want to dress you if you were at the Oscars?" and other than Dockery I'm not sure the options here were as great as usual. A lot of these were more divisive than dreamy. To me, Janelle's is too busy and Hailee's has the worst bodice. Elizabeth Banks's prompted a lot of discussion about whatever the skirt is doing. Jessica Biel's might've gone too all-in on that slit, and not all of you were as charmed by the surprise of Meryl in a dress-over-pants as we were.
Gucci
Until I made this slide, I expected Louis Vuitton to win ("win") this. But LOOK AT THIS. It's all making me like Kidman's macaws much better. Dakota Johnson, Salma, Felicity...
J Mendel
I don't know why this turned out so blurry. Maybe it's trying to spare your eyes?
Jean Paul Gaultier
I almost didn't put them in, because again, Gaultier doesn't really seem to be a line that's courting that many red carpets. But Gabrielle won worst-dressed for the parties, and rightly. Katy's is also a mess.
Louis Vuitton
Why doesn't LV do better by its signature women? It's practically a Dior-level problem. Michelle Williams did... okay? The worst of it is the dress with the black choker, although the more I stare at that EVIL INSANE FACE on her BAFTA dress, the larger my nightmares become. Sophie Turner had a great BAFTA dress over there on the left, but it doesn't make up for some of the other atrocities. And Alicia Vikander only made it to this ceremony. You'd think they'd have teed up something nicer for the reigning Best Supporting Actress. Alas. This was not unexpected but also boring.
Ralph & Russo
We were begging more people to wear R&R, but somehow it didn't quite translate the way we'd hoped. Everything is a bit off. Hailee's first dress turned out not to be very lined, and her second we THOUGHT was lined until we realized we could see pubic bone. Alessandra's red dress is off. Priyanka's flattens her out; Brie's is off-kilter.
Reem Acra
These are all horrible. I can't tell if Emily Ratajkowski is working the dress so hard and awkwardly because she knows it's bad, or because she's just really not adept at turning lemons into lemonade.
Valentino
Teresa Palmer and Emma Stone look perfect, but that wasn't enough for me to outweigh the rest. Caitriona Balfe's atrocity is the very very worst, though Helena Christensen's isn't a delight either. Ruth Negga picked a REALLY atypically naked dress at the Palm Springs Film Festival (a Golden Globes warm-up event, basically), but her custom Valentino has diminishing returns for me. The more I look at it, the cheaper it seems to feel.
Versace
Unusually for Versace, a lot of these are pretty classy; they're just not all inherently great.
Zuhair Murad
Sometimes Zuhair Murad is so stunning, but I found a lot of these to be too overwhelming, and Tracee Ellis Ross's Globes dress was a HUGE HUGE bummer.
