118 DAYS. THE SAG-AFTRA strike meant that actors and film industry professionals spent 118 days picketing, striking and negotiating for fairer working conditions — and it also meant that for those 118 days, red carpets were no longer a fixture of the entertainment landscape.

Actors were not allowed to promote their films in any form (with some exceptions) and so, the glittering spectacles that we’ve become accustomed to accompanying awards ceremonies and movie premieres were taken off the bill, once their dependent events themselves were cancelled.

Over the years, fashion has become increasingly intertwined with the Hollywood set: Actors now grace magazine covers instead of models, and the most sought after role for a starlet has become not a Nolan film, but a lucrative campaign with a luxury fashion house. So, as soon as the strike ended in mid-November, the buzz around what pieces would be spotted on the red carpets began. 

Now, just a month on, there have already been a slew of major events — from large scale premieres to events like the LACMA Gala, the Academy Museum Gala, and the British Fashion Awards — and each has signalled a renewed embrace of high-octane glamour. One that speaks to the whimsy and fantasy of what the strange ritual of walking the red carpet (and spectating from home) is all about.

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Take the British Fashion Awards, where the best and brightest emerged to celebrate the country’s fashion industry. Anne Hathaway wore spaghetti-like archival Valentino, intricate and unusual, while Amal Clooney glittered in high drama Versace sequins and Cartier jewels. Meanwhile, Kate Moss was a witchy vision in vintage David Fielden dress, twisted at her hip, and overlaid with a sweeping Saint Laurent cape. It was a spectacle of high-stakes fashion of the best kind: Not necessarily risk-averse, and unafraid of all out glamour.

Premieres have also been amping up the volume. Take Emma Stone, who showed up to the New York City premiere of Poor Things in head-to-toe Louis Vuitton — a bejewelled pale lemon gown, paired with a giant Carrie Bradshaw-esque corsage at her throat. It was a statement look, no doubt.

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COURTESY LOUIS VUITTON

Perhaps it’s no surprise that the red carpet has come back in swinging fashion. We’ve seen the cycle before: When the pandemic hit, people made claims as bold as declaring red carpets were finished, and even that the end of celebrity as a whole was nigh (certain well-meaning but oblivious sing-along videos did not help). But fast forward to 2021, and the red carpet was back and bigger and bolder than ever: from the drama-filled elegance of Cannes, to the well-dressed water taxi arrivals in Venice, to the pure chaotic punk energy of the MTV VMAs. 

Others have football, tennis, chess: Let’s just say that red carpet watching is our favourite spectator sport, and we’re ready for another starry season.

Related: Hunter Schafer is single-handedly resuscitating the red carpet