Red carpet black outs, oversizing and lots of beige: Fashion expert Rebecca Lowthorpe looks back ove
120 views · Published 26 December 2018 · 6:12 · Indexed 24 October 2026
Channel: AP Archive · 2018 · Entertainment
(20 Dec 2018) RED CARPET BLACK OUTS, OVERSIZING AND A LOT OF BEIGE: FASHION EXPERT REBECCA LOWTHORPE LOOKS BACK OVER 2018'S SARTORIAL MOMENTS In 2018, fashion was used as a powerful symbol of unity at red carpet events. At January's Golden Globes Awards, a red carpet blackout was staged with many high-profile guests wearing black outfits in support of the #MeToo and Time's Up movements that were formed in reponse to stories of sexual misconduct in the entertainment world that first broke in late 2017. Rebecca Lowthorpe, Fashion Director of Grazia UK magazine, says this was the year of politicized fashion. "The thing that kicked off the year last January was, post #MeToo and Harvey Weinstein, was the Golden Globes, the black out, and that had a profound effect on fashion on the red carpet for some time. So for about six months all we saw were those women bonded together wearing black and what a powerful statement it made." Stars including Natalie Portman, America Ferrera, Emma Stone, Mariah Carey, Angelina Jolie and more chose to don black dresses in support of the movements against sexual harassment. "You can't underestimate the force of that union, of those women coming together and what they had to say through fashion which was incredibly positive and powerful. 2018 also saw an extreme contrast between ultra-wearable and almost unwearable items. "I think the top trends were mainly based on things that were really difficult to wear," says Lowthorpe. "I am not sure why but fashion kind of threw up all these very tricky trends so from anything from neon to clothes that were really XXXL… Girls walked down the catwalk like mountains in mountains and mountains of clothes. The flip side of that was very, very wearable, real life clothes coming through." Often those garments came in earthy and natural tones. "A hundred shades of beige," says Lowthorpe. "Leopard print was (also) massive and continues to be and will be for next year too. The new neutral they are calling it." The pantsuit also proved popular in 2018. During her press tour for "A Simple Favor," Blake Lively exclusively wore suits while Michelle Obama often rocked the look on her "Becoming" book tour. "I think it is that crossover of menswear to womenswear that has been on the cards for many years now and the advent of the trouser suit and the soft power trouser suit that has been worn by Michelle Obama, for example, huge icon in fashion now," says Lowthorpe of the former U.S. First Lady. "Post White House she is sort turning up on her 12 stop book tour in every soft trouser suit you could possibly imagine and making it look fantastic too. She's definitely become an enormous selling tool of fashion as well and also a huge supporter of young designers, bringing lots of new brands to the table that we wouldn't necessarily know about." Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/77c33a1a5dd1a4a5b9b269964ae63df7
