Last Week, Stars Were Decidedly Minimal and Definitively Glamorous 

The countdown to the holidays needn’t require holly leaves and reindeer sweaters. One can be festive and cool...or so argue the world’s most stylish who last week managed to do just that on red carpets around the globe. For example, Brie Larson bloomed magnificently at a screening of Just Mercy in Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen’s floral dress in vibrant poinsettia hues. In Mumbai, Bollywood icon Deepika Padukone took a similar tonal route in a dramatic, magenta sari by Sabyasachi for the Lokmat Style Awards.

Of course, it wasn’t all hot pink on the scarlet runner. For a Little Women photo call in London, Saoirse Ronan’s wore a minimal LBD by Pierpaolo Piccioli for Valentino finished off with crystal-studded boots. Equally understated yet impactful were the black cape and white suit Charlize Theron chose for a special screening of Bombshell at Lincoln Center.

Elsewhere, holiday movie premieres yielded a few dazzling fashion moments. Opinion may be divided on Tom Hooper’s Cats, but Francesca Hayward’s beaded Miu Miu gown received only high praise. Likewise, Star Wars: Rise of the Skywalker gave Daisy Ridley an occasion to pull out an otherworldly Vivienne Westwood Couture. The corseted blue silk gown with its detachable train was thrilling, unexpected, and—let’s just say it—a force.