What the Stars Will Wear to the Palm Springs Film Festival Gala This Weekend
9:32 PM PST 1/2/2012 by Merle Ginsberg
Last year, the Palm Springs Film Festival Gala opened awards season with
a fashion bang - and we can expect likewise this year. After all, Charlize Theron, Jessica Chastain, Octavia Spencer - and more than likely Angelina Jolie (Brad Pitt's being awarded) will sweep the carpet this weekend. But will they be wearing traditional red carpet gowns?
Unlikely. They're going to save those gowns for the Globes and SAGS, and
no designer worth his or her salt is going to part with an A list next
season gown for an event that doesn't make television. Sure, the photos
will be dispersed on the net around the world - but those tv ratings
really do add up to something.
We would not be surprised someone like Glenn Close,
who's being honored this year, arrive in a black Armani tuxedo suit.
Pants are actually a good option for Palm Springs -- dressy ones,
anyway. Our prediction: cocktail dresses on the stars, NOT gowns - not
yet. Hair down and styled. Not too much makeup (they've got to build up
to that). Dresses on Chastain and Theron and Jolie from major designers
(Oscar de la Renta, Dior, Vuitton, Lanvin, Armani Prive, Versace) from
their resort or pre-fall collections - not from current spring 2012 and
not from upcoming fall 2012, either. And - color. Black is stately and
formal, and Palm Springs is the capital of pink and green, after all.
Then the following week, these ladies will have to top themselves at the
Critics Choice Awards on January 12 - so they've got to pace
themselves. Hopefully, their stylists have all this worked out in
advance. Natalie Portman's stylist Kate Young certainly
had her act together last awards season. We can only hope for a red
carpet wardrobe as beautiful as hers to turn up this year. And the good
news is - Brad Pitt's name is on every list. That means we can count on
Angelina this season.
