Amal Clooney, Viola Davis among best-dressed at Golden Globes

BY LISA LENOIR

For the Sun-Times

The new black on the 72nd annual Golden Globes red carpet: Red.

Hollywood’s A-list stars hit the celebrity runway Sunday night wearing the finest designer gowns powered in the robust color.

Top winners in the red brigade: Viola Davis in Donna Karan; Dame Helen Mirren in Dolce & Gabbana; Allison Williams in Armani Prive.

Not to be overshadowed, stars came out in bright yellows and shades of purple and blues. Naomi Watts appeared in a stunning column Gucci strapless gown with a powerful Bulgari diamond necklace snaking around her neck.

Lupita Nyong’o never disappoints, choosing a violet and white Giambattista Valli gown and Chopard earrings. Amy Adams took the more subdued route with a one-shoulder Grecian-inspired Versace gown, with Tiffany jewels. We think she could take a few more fashion risks for red carpet affairs. Maybe she’s saving her best look for the Academy Awards.

New mothers Emily Blunt in Michael Kors and Rosamund Pike in Vera Wang took on the more pristine and pure looks, choosing white gowns that played up their femininity.

We can thank Julianne Moore and Amal Clooney for bringing us a transfusion of Old Hollywood to the red carpet. Moore swooned on E! Entertainment Television’s Red Carpet show about being able to work on designing her custom-made Givenchy Couture gown.

Clooney didn’t need to say a word. She just posed on the red carpet in a black Dior gown, with her DIY, opera-length gloves; her nod to Hollywood glamor said it all. (She sewed the gloves herself the morning of the show, said George Clooney to People magazine.)

Some designer names thrown into the mix of the Diors, Armanis, Versaces were Miu Miu (Sienna Miller and Kate Mara) and Zuhair Murad (Jennifer Lopez).

Other trends from red carpet: side swept, short or up-do hairstyles, small structured or soft clutches, and chandelier or drop earrings.

Lisa Lenoir is a freelance writer. She teaches fashion communication at Stephens College in Columbia, Mo.