Teyana Taylor, Chappell Roan and the New Naked Dressing
Teyana Taylor, Chappell Roan and the new naked dressing; Bad Bunny’s corseted moral spine; coordinating girl (and boy) groups — the Grammys red carpet delivers style and substance. Fashion Trust U.S. finalists are announced at a swish cocktail party. A new exhibition on fashion and architecture opens in Palm Springs. And designer bridal Birkenstocks — why did it take so long?
The 68th Annual Grammy Awards
The Grammys provided the jolt awards season needed, delivering style and substance, as well as avant-garde outrageousness in the best way.
Unlike at the Golden Globes, Hollywood did not shy away from politics. “Before I say thanks to God, I gonna say Ice Out,” Best Música Urbana Album winner Bad Bunny said during his acceptance speech to thunderous applause. “We’re not savage, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens. We are humans and we are Americans.”
Best New Artist Grammy winner Olivia Dean delivered her own poignant message at the podium: “I’m up here as a granddaughter of an immigrant. I wouldn’t be here — I’m a product of bravery, and I think those people deserve to be celebrated. We’re nothing without each other.”
Besides powerful political messages, the night delivered the individual style statements we’ve come to expect from music’s biggest night, where stars first and foremost represent their own personal brands.
If it seems like every red carpet in recent memory has been dominated by new Dior and new Chanel, this marked a break in that pattern — not that both houses didn’t have their moments. Dean’s custom Matthieu Blazy for Chanel gown set the pace for the evening’s black-and-white-and-feathers trend, and Harry Styles gave Jonathan Anderson’s new Dior Bar jacket its biggest stage yet. But plenty of other designers also stepped into the spotlight.
Tom Ford’s Must-Have Muse
No surprise here, awards season fashion queen Teyana Taylor killed it in a chocolate-brown crystal mesh gown that left very little to the imagination. The actor-singer double threat is the best thing to happen to Tom Ford in a very long time, and the brand should spend whatever it takes to secure her as its next face. Her Tiffany HardWear necklaces were the perfect modern accent.
The New Naked Dressing
Chappell Roan also embraced what I’ll call the new naked dressing. Moving beyond the peekaboo lace and sheer beading of yore, the trend is now about sculptural cuts and, in Roan’s case, prosthetic wizardry. Her custom Mugler look by Miguel Castro Freitas — a burnt-red chiffon dress suspended by prosthetic breasts with nipple piercings — paired with tattoo art and a stunning Buccellati choker, added up to one of the most iconic Grammys fashion moments of all time, alongside Gaga’s egg and J.Lo’s gravity-defying cleavage.
Valentino Rock Studs
Just weeks after fashion legend Valentino Garavani passed away, the house’s current creative director did him proud. Alessandro Michele’s track record of Valentino red carpet looks has been mixed, but at the Grammys he nailed it, dressing Sabrina Carpenter in a floral beaded drop waist gown that was perfectly on-brand for the pin-up princess, and newcomer Sombr in a silver suit and lace turtleneck that cemented his rock star status, even if he left his first Grammys empty handed. He also wore Valentino Rockstud shoes, yet another indication the early Aughts accessory franchise is returning, after being center stage in “The Devil Wears Prada 2” trailer.
Seeing Double … and Triple and …
The Flo trio in matching-but-different bandeau and blue chiffon Luar looks, the Haim sisters rocking black studded Louis Vuitton dresses, and girl group Katseye in six iterations of white lace by Ludovic de Saint Sernin — not since the 1990s have we seen so many coordinated looks on the carpet. Even Pharrell Williams jumped on the trend, matching his mates Pusha T and Malice in plush blush velvet tuxedos.
Taking Flight
Lady Gaga gave yet another celebrity nod of approval to red-hot Paris fashion brand Matières Fécales. Each feather of her raven-like look was hand dyed to the darkest black and hand assembled in a twist effect to highlight her body. “A true honor to create this custom couture look for an artist that has inspired us to dream bolder since we were kids,” designers Hannah Rose Dalton and Steven Raj Bhaskaran said in a statement. It was a delight.
Dirty Looks
FKA Twigs channeled the spirit of the deliberately stained shirts, collars and cuffs that came down the Prada menswear runway in January, and subsequently nearly broke the Internet. She chose a gown hand dyed and distressed with copper by Paolo Carzana. The Welsh designer, who makes everything by hand using plant-based, organic and repurposed materials, is featured in the “Dirty Looks” exhibition currently on view at the Barbican in London, which must have had an influence on the Prada dirty cuff moment.
I saw the show which investigates how designers deliberately use decay, dirt and imperfection as a form of rebelliousness and a commentary on sustainability. It was truly enlightening. Could we be headed into another fashion moment challenging the tyranny of perfection? Wouldn’t that be something.
Value Based Dressing
Billie Eilish wore her values of sustainability on her sleeve, spotlighting the work of up-and-coming Stockholm-based designer Ellen Hodakova Larsson. Eilish’s Hodakova twisted tailored jacket and skirt were made from reconstructed deadstock trousers and were worn with white cotton shirt sleeves draped over the shoulders and upcycled belts, creating a too-cool look that also synced with the night’s dominant black-and-white trend.
Last and Lasting Looks
Could Addison Rae have worn one of Alaïa designer Pieter Mulier’s last red carpet looks? The creative director, who over the last five years rejuvenated the French house and made it a critical darling, is joining Versace as chief creative officer in July. This plucky, minimal but feminine look, with a sculpted neckline and low-high skirt, was indicative of his fabulous work at Alaïa.
On the menswear front, riffs on the traditional tuxedo dominated the night. The extraordinary corset lacing on the back of Bad Bunny’s black velvet Schiaparelli jacket traced the moral spine he displayed in delivering his pointed remarks about immigration — which, like his historic Best Album win, will be remembered for a long time.
Fashion Trust U.S. Gathers L.A. Fashion Community
Tania Fares and her Fashion Trust U.S. nonprofit, dedicated to discovering, mentoring and funding young designers, brought a cross-section of L.A. style setters together for cocktails Tuesday night.
The gathering served as the announcement for the 2026 Fashion Trust U.S. finalists, as selected by FTUS board and advisory members.
The setting was L.A. designer Christy Cham’s incredible Trousdale Estates midcentury oasis, once home to both Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra. The pool area, with its sunken lounge and outdoor bar, was where the action was, with guests sipping charcoal margaritas, nibbling on green pea agnolotti and enjoying the rare L.A. fashion industry mixer.
Celebrity stylists were out, including Micah McDonald and Wayman Bannerman, who have been working with Teyana Taylor and Chase Infiniti this season, as well as Jamie Mizrahi, Karla Welch, Erica Cloud and B Åkerlund. Designers in attendance included NB44’s Nicolas Bijan, Cult Gaia’s Jasmin Larian Hekmat, ALC’s Andrea Lieberman, Elder Statesman’s Greg Chait, Peter Dundas, Jennifer Meyer and Loree Rodkin.
Beauty and wellness brand builders Tina Craig (U Beauty), Anastasia Soare (Anastasia) and Richard Christiansen (Flamingo Estate) were also mingling with arts and entertainment figures such as UTA’s Dan Constable, CAA’s Maha Dakhil, Google’s Stephanie Horton and artist Alex Israel.
In just three years, Fares has grown Fashion Trust U.S. from a mere upstart American offshoot of the original Fashion Trust U.K. to a respected design competition drawing hundreds of applicants. The annual awards galas held in L.A. each April have become draws for celebrities and designers, with Saint Laurent’s Anthony Vaccarello and 2024 CFDA Women’s Designer of the Year Rachel Scott among past winners, and Hailey Bieber, Colman Domingo, Kate Hudson, Bob Mackie, Willy Chavarria and many more attending.
Best of luck to this year’s finalists in ready-to-wear: Ashlynn Park of Ashlyn, Keith Herron of Advisry, Maxwell Osborne and Kristy Chen of AnOnlyChild and Zane Li of LII; jewelry: Ivi Kyratzi of IVI Los Angeles, Jen Insardi of JV Insardi, Jing Feng of Harlot Hands and Josefina Baillères; accessories: Andrea Marron, Camilla Gabrieli, Chris Echevarria of Blackstock & Weber and Karla Maria Dipuglia Perez of Ká Dipuglia, and those in the graduate category.
The Fashion Show as Architecture Explored in New Exhibition
As the luxury market has expanded, runway sets and settings have become increasingly elaborate over the past two decades, taking show-goers from the Great Wall of China (Fendi, 2007) to France’s Château de Chantilly (Valentino Couture, 2023), to Rome’s Villa Albani Torlonia (Dior Cruise, 2026) and beyond.
A new exhibition at the Palm Springs Art Museum looks at the phenomenon through an architectural lens.
Curated by former Louis Vuitton director of art, culture and heritage Christine Vendredi, now executive director of the museum, “Fashioning Architecture: What the Runway Borrows from Architecture” examines the runway, backstage, seating arrangements and the show itself as a designed environment.
Through videos, photographs and interviews with scouts, production teams, showrunners, photographers, fashion journalists and historians, the exhibition explores how fashion houses use architecture.
“Architecture shapes the runway, the seating and the backstage, guiding movement and perception and playing a central role in how a collection comes into focus,” Vendredi wrote in an email.
At a time when fashion presentations are increasingly staged in significant spaces and shared instantly across social media, the exhibition feels especially timely in highlighting the runway as both structure and storytelling device, she said.
As for why Palm Springs, the curator points out that it has long been a touchstone for design-driven fashion (L.A. designer Trina Turk was one of the originators), with the historic Albert Frey–designed Racquet Club hosting resortwear runway shows from the 1940s to the 1960s, and modernist homes frequently serving as backdrops for fashion editorials and shows to this day.
That’s what drew Vendredi to Palm Springs herself, first visiting a decade ago when she was scouting for an architectural backdrop for Nicolas Ghesquière’s 2016 Louis Vuitton Cruise Collection fashion show. What she found — the John Lautner–designed Bob Hope House — was the perfect setting for the designer’s space-age style. That show is examined in the museum’s galleries, along with LaQuan Smith’s Spring 2022 show atop the Empire State Building, Chanel’s Fall 2014 supermarket show at the Grand Palais, Jacquemus’ 2019 runway among the rolling lavender fields of Provence, and Trina Turk’s brand imagery photographed at Palm Springs’ Stahl and Frey II houses, among many others.
“Palm Springs has always understood architecture as part of lifestyle and image,” Vendredi said. “That sensibility aligns closely with the fashion show, where space, movement and visual framing are essential to how fashion is experienced.”
“Fashioning Architecture: What the Runway Borrows from Architecture“ runs through June 7, at the Palm Springs Art Museum Architecture and Design Center.
Birkenstocks for the Bride and Beyond
Birkenstock is making its most romantic fashion play yet. The storied German footwear brand, which has been trending upward since Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy–backed private equity firm L Catterton acquired a majority stake in February 2021, is teaming with New York bridal powerhouse Danielle Frankel on a limited-edition capsule.
Frankel’s namesake bridal and eveningwear label is beloved by celebrities including Zoë Kravitz, Alexandra Daddario, Julia Garner and Erin Foster for its fashion-forward point of view, and has become synonymous with the modern bride. For this collaboration, the designer — who opened a gorgeous L.A. store on Melrose Place last year — has infused Birkenstock classics with couture polish that could take you down the aisle and to any special occasion.
The capsule includes four reworked styles done in satin — the Madrid with slender ties, the pearl-laced Arizona and Tulum — plus two bespoke styles exclusive to Frankel: a hand-painted Boston clog and an Arizona sandal embroidered with chiffon blooms.
The shoes, priced from $660 to $1,990, will cost you—like everything wedding-related. Still, it’s a small price to pay for stunning comfort on the big day. The collection is available for pre-order at 1774.com and daniellefrankelstudio.com and will be at select retailers worldwide on Feb. 12.
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