It can’t be easy being an A-lister during awards season – least of all at the BAFTA Awards. All of those red carpets and all of those gowns. Constantly being asked on said red carpets about said gowns. Having your full look zoomed in on and pulled apart with a fine tooth comb by onlookers (myself included). It’s no wonder that, this year, plenty of actors and actresses played it safe and sophisticated. And by “safe and sophisticated”, I mean that attendees gave method dressing a rest for a moment, and there were very few risky or left-field choices, outfit-wise (aside from The Substance director Coralie Fargeat showing up in a floor-length puffer coat). No, at the 2025 BAFTAs, it was all very Old Hollywood glamour – you wouldn’t have been able to tell that any of this happened in South London at all.
From Saoirse Ronan in silky off-the-shoulder Louis Vuitton to BAFTA winner Mikey Madison in a cream bustier Prada dress with an embellished crystal scarf, the mood of the night was: timeless and glamour-drenched, with more than a hint of the 1940s and 1950s throughout. And then there was that voluminous custom Louis Vuitton ballgown worn by Ariana Grande (very Marilyn-coded), and the glimmering, jewel-studded Schiaparelli number worn by Selena Gomez. Pamela Anderson, too, opted for a cascading white Jacquemus gown, paired with little white heels.
This isn’t the first time that Old Hollywood glamour emerged as the theme of the night at an awards show this year. The 2025 Golden Globes, too, saw endless opera-style gloves, off-the-shoulder gowns and dramatic, floor-skimming draping. As my colleague Anna Cafolla pointed out, “It seemed a significant portion of attendees were gunning for the main role in that long-rumoured Audrey Hepburn biopic.”
In some ways, it makes sense that many of our biggest stars would be yearning for the Golden Age of cinema – or at least the good parts of it – both visually and perhaps conceptually too. At a time in which artificial intelligence is threatening to alter the trajectory of film forever, and when the box office is dominated by blockbuster sequels and regurgitated IP, what better time to look back to the greats and romanticise a much simpler, and generally much more fun, time in film (again, for the most part)? And if that romanticisation looks like plunging necklines and enormous diamonds, so be it. Because let’s face it: elegance never goes out of style.
Editor
Daisy Jones
