Golden Globes Red Carpet Predictions From Fashion Expert Cameron Silver

Awards season is in full effect, and we are waiting with bated breath to see the red carpet for Sunday’s 73rd Golden Globes. As with every red carpet, we can’t wait to hear what the experts have to say about what our faves wore. We caught up with Cameron Silver, Fashion Director of the H by Halston, self proclaimed King of Vintage, author, and owner of the renowned couture vintage store Decades. The fashion expert weighs in on his favorite red carpet moments, who he’s dying to see and the trends he wishes would go away.

Who is your favorite red carpet celebrity and why?

Photo: Wenn
With the modern style icons it’s Cate Blanchett because she’s not boring and she’s not too safe and she can carry fashion completely organically. It never feels so studied which I think is the challenge with most actresses wearing designer clothing. Most of the girls are just not that iconic. It’s really just Cate Blanchett who has the gravitas to carry real fashion. She’s never too safe and although she has a relationship with Giorgio Armani, she will still wear an emerging young designer showing his first couture collection. She isn’t a darling of blogs and weeklies where her personal life is exaggeratedly chronicled. She still has this regal mystery, which I find extremely attractive. Half of these actors I’m just tired to see. I’m exhausted by their omnipresence. So it’s very effective sometimes to have an actress like a Cate Blanchett who is a true bonafide movie star and not a ubiquitous darling of social media. I don’t have to know too much about her. There is something very sophisticated about not being ubiquitous. And that’s difficult to craft being a ubiquitous star. There’s a lot of effort put into being a darling of the weeklies, and a darling of the tabloids, and a darling of the blogs. There’s a lot of PR push to do it. There’s also strategy to avoid that and that’s something that I think is very elegant if you’re able to avoid. As far as young people I do like Zendaya. I think she’s got great style. I had the pleasure of meeting her just before she was about to transition into broader fame and I think she is an absolutely lovely young woman. Another person who I always think looks good is Solange. She has such good style. In the past one of the last red carpet moments was Zoe Saldana. I like Zoe quite often.

Who do you predict will be the best dressed?

Photo: Wenn
Alicia Vikander. I think she’s pretty chic. She’s made a nice impression on me so far. I’m a little tired of the T and A dresses and beaded dresses that I think are so old fashioned and princess dresses. I think she’s had some interesting looks as she develops her reputation. Alicia is just kind of cool and it’s interesting.

What is your favorite silhouette?

Photo: Universal Studios
It’s a silhouette that I don’t think Cate wears that often, but I would love to see her in a halter look. I tend to like very elegant, American chic. So Norman Norell in the 40’s and 50’s did these beautiful halter mermaid gown that were on jersey, and then Halston did them in jersey in the 70’s. But it’s an effortless elegant silhouette. I cannot look at another princess gown, and I’m so glad that’s not Cate’s look anyway. And I cannot look at another navel raising slit up to your uterus gown. I’m tired of it. It’s not sexy.

What are your predictions for this awards season’s red carpets?

Photo: Wenn
I think it is so hard to be a movie star today, because there’s so much new media so there’s always gonna be this contingent of desperate stars who will do anything to have a red carpet moment, and that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s a good moment. Fame has changed so much. Being a movie star isn’t that valuable anymore the way it was four or five years ago because of new media stars who have almost a greater influence. So I think that psychologically confusing to have this traditional level of acclaim yet generations don’t know who you are because they don’t go to the movies, and they don’t watch scripted television so I think that creates this challenge of how do you break through and be relevant to the new generation. And I think that’s where we sometimes see some real train wrecks. I think it’s becoming an exaggerated phenomenon. So I think we’ll still see those barely there dresses usually on actresses who don’t have anything to prove anymore. You’ve been famous for twenty years, enjoy that fame and don’t try to compete with a 14 or 15 year old. I do think we’ll also see some people who just have an eff all attitude, and I want someone to Bjork it, because we need a Bjork moment. I think somebody somewhere is just going to do that and just realize that this is all out of control. There is so much unethical as far as I’m concerned payola going on with product placement. If bloggers have to say that they’re being paid to post something, at a certain point don’t you think that actors and actresses in jewelry or clothing that they’re being paid to wear it then it is an advertisement and it should be more transparent? So I think there is a lot of backfire going on, and I hope there will be some strong independent spirits and true icons who say decide I’m going to own my style and not be held to a contract that may put me in something that isn’t that amazing. At the end of the day I remember Bjork’s dress more than I remember anyone from last year. I remember the train wrecks or the purported train wrecks. Like we know all five nominees will be in Chopard jewelry because a check was written. I miss the days when an actress went into a store, bought a dress, supported the economy, or befriended a designer and had an Audrey Hepburn Givenchy relationship, or a Cher and Bob Mackie relationship. I would be thrilled to see a Cher moment on the red carpet. That’s theater. That’s drama.

Is there anyone who you are dying to get your hands on to offer style advice?

Photo: Wenn
I genuinely like Kim Kardashian as a person, and I think it would be fun to refine a little bit of her style. I find her completely lovely and charming, but it would be interesting to sort of play around with her style, which is always transitioning. She’s so visual so wouldn’t it be interesting to turn Kim Kardashian into a 21st century Grace Kelly? She has this fame and that would be a really fascinating project to sort of refine the style. Interestingly enough whenever she comes into the store I always think she looks so elegant. She’s wearing a high waisted skirt and a fitted knit and it looks chic, but I tend to not love her looks on the red carpet. So it would be fun to develop her relationship with a designer. I would love to see Karl Lagerfeld who’s so obsessed with young talent, to say guess what? Kim Kardashian is going to be your new muse and what that would be like for Kim Kardashian to become this Chanel woman. The other one I would love to work with is Kristen Stewart. I just never really love the way she looks, and it actually almost frustrates me, because I don’t really know her that well as an actress but she’s become such a tabloid darling that it distracts me from her potential talent and fame. She just never looks comfortable in her clothes in my opinion. There’s this obsession with her and like why can’t you just look good in a more appropriate way. It’s one of those situations where they’re just trying to hard to turn her into this fashion icon and it’s just not happening. And I know generally people are very critical of her and I think it’s unfortunate and kind of mean, but I do feel that they are challenging her to be something that isn’t organic.