The 11 Best-Dressed Stars at the 2025 Golden Globes Make the Show Worth Watching

The best-dressed stars on the 2025 Golden Globes red carpet had a tall order to fill: Serve outfits that stood out on the 82nd Annual Golden Globes step-and-repeat and make editors and fashion girls at home happy they tuned in.

The Golden Globes have long been considered the start of the annual awards-season circuit, with the ceremony honoring outstanding performances in film and TV usually being the first of the new calendar year. Many celebs' style reputations have been made by a dress they wore to the Beverly Hills event. But the competition for attention on this first Sunday in January is fierce—Taylor Swift isn't the only one choosing whether to attend the red carpet, watch Sunday Night Football (the Chiefs are playing), or catch highlights of both on TikTok.

Swift didn't attend, and while her presence was missed, there was plenty more to catch our attention. Within minutes, the Marie Claire Slack lit up with links to our favorite looks, and narrowing them down to the top picks wasn't easy. In nearly eight years of reporting on awards season red carpets, I hadn't seen a first ceremony hit quite like this one. Stars like Anya Taylor-Joy and Ariana Grande made deliberate pulls from their favorite designers' archives; Zendaya, meanwhile, shut down the carpet in custom Louis Vuitton that payed homage to Old Hollywood in a completely fresh way. (She also ever-so-casually appeared to debut her diamond engagement ring.) Cynthia Erivo arrived in dazzling Louis Vuitton and Mikey Madison glittered in Bottega Veneta. And then there was Selena Gomez, looking like a vision in Prada (and her enormous engagement ring). Yeah, I was glad I tuned in.

Ahead, find the 11 best dressed Golden Globes attendees of 2025 that stopped editors in their tracks. And if you didn't see these looks live and in person? Don't make the same mistake for the Grammys or the Academy Awards.

Cynthia Erivo wearing custom Louis Vuitton

Elphaba green might have flown for a final time in 2024. For her first awards season red carpet, Wicked star Cynthia Erivo left the Emerald City, and an emerald palette, behind. Instead, she and stylist Jason Bolden tapped Louis Vuitton for a custom black gown coated in floral-shaped crystal embellishments. There's still plenty of magic in the way her dress's accents reflect swirling galaxies from afar—and the way they complement the equally bright shine of her 6-carat diamond manicure. Bottom line: On-the-nose method dressing, like the wicked witch of the west, appears to be vanquished for good.

Elle Fanning wearing Balmain

Elle Fanning and stylist Samantha McMillen love a vintage reference. Yet her 2025 Golden Globes Balmain gown wasn't quite as overtly a nod to the '60s as the Gucci and Dior she's previously worn on A Complete Unknown's red carpet tour. The bow-like bodice—in a splashy cheetah print!—appeared like an archival fever dream, as did the voluminous ballgown skirt and touches of Cartier diamonds. But I wouldn't call this a copy and paste from a bygone era—I'd say it's the definition of timeless.

Selena Gomez wearing Prada

Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco were the couple of the night, but fans didn't see the pair's carriage pull up to the Golden Globes red carpet. Instead, they showed off their Disney princess and prince outfits inside the venue. Gomez was resplendent in Cinderella-blue Prada gown styled by Erin Walsh, while Blanco was dashing in a white suit. Weeks ago, Gomez's diamond engagement ring got all the headlines on account of its impressive size and value. But it looked positively demure next to her baby-blue, off-the-shoulder gown and dramatic side-parted bob. She also added a few new sparklers, courtesy of Tiffany & Co.: a necklace and rings via the Tiffany Blue Book Collection, Tiffany diamond stud earrings, and a second Tiffany ring. Compared to her recent billionaire white suit and slew of black dresses, this was a softer, sweeter number I loved like a love song. (And I hope she keeps styling looks like this on repeat throughout awards season.)

Margaret Qualley wearing Chanel

Years before she was nominated for a Golden Globe, Margaret Qualley closed one of Chanel's Paris Fashion Week shows as its bride. Cut to 2025: She attended this year's awards ceremony in a tiered confection of a dress by the same house, styled by Patricia Villirillo. Qualley often chooses Chanel for her red-carpet events, but this one hit different. Perhaps it was the stark-but-sweet bow belt at her waist, or the glisten of sparkler-like diamond earrings beneath her dark hair. Either way, I couldn't help but say "I do" to this look.

Zendaya wearing custom Louis Vuitton

For most stars, referencing "Old Hollywood" amounts to pulling on some elbow-length gloves. For Zendaya and Law Roach, there's more homework involved. The actress arrived at the 2025 Golden Globes in a Louis Vuitton gown steeped in history. Her custom piece, Roach revealed on Instagram Stories, was both a hat-tip to the designs of Zelda Wynn Valdes, an African-American costume designer, and Joyce Bryant, a nightclub singer of the 1940s. In her mid-twentieth century heyday, Valdes designed pieces for Dorothy Dandridge, Ella Fitzgerald, and Gladys Knight; she was also the first Black woman to open a dress-making business on Broadway, and she is often credited with creating the Playboy Bunny look. Meanwhile, on the radio waves, Bryant challenged censors while styling herself in bombshell fashion. (She's often referred to as the "Black Marilyn Monroe.")

Z paid homage to these figures' signature glamour in her sculptural bodice, exaggerated train, and yards of luscious citrus satin. Topped with a Bulgari diamond and tourmaline necklace, the Challengers star expertly brought the past into the present.

Ariana Grande wearing archival Givenchy

Ariana Grande is nowhere near finished makingWicked references with her red carpet style—but she's branching out from bubbly Glinda pinks and "Popular" French manicures. She and stylist Mimi Cuttrell instead looked to the Yellow Brick Road, and the Givenchy archives, for their 2025 Golden Globes look. The result? A beaded, butter yellow gown with a sloping, ruffled skirt. Styled with a bouncy ponytail, a glittering crystal necklace, and elbow-length gloves, Grande reminded me of another vintage reference: Audrey Hepburn circa My Fair Lady.

Tilda Swinton wearing Chanel

Tilda Swinton's Golden Globe-nominated movie The Room Next Door explores the contours of a longstanding (and complicated) friendship. In its own special way, her collarless Chanel jacket and column skirt do the exact same thing. Swinton referred to the artisans at the house's Paris atelier as her "friends" in a red carpet interview with Variety. Friends who've dressed her for countless award ceremonies, dinners, and events; friends who know the star doesn't need more than a subtly shimmering jacket and an elegant skirt to look like an award-winner. Another close confidante brought the look to life: Jerry Stafford, who counts Swinton among his close-knit list of clients.

Keira Knightley wearing Chanel

In Black Doves, Keira Knightley alternates between a loving mother and a lethal spy with a wardrobe to match each role. On the 2025 Golden Globes red carpet, she definitely dressed to kill. The actress worked with stylist Leith Clark to concoct a sleek and seductive look, starting with a Chanel slip dress featuring a sequined bodice and a feather-trimmed skirt. Paired with a sleek, short bob and a tough black manicure, Knightley looked more like a modern black swan than a demure dove.

Mikey Madison wearing Bottega Veneta

Weeks of Mikey Madison's Anora red carpet outfits have led to this: the official start of awards season, and her journey to clinch competitive Best Actress awards for her portrayal of the exotic dancer Ani. She certainly lived up to her onscreen hype at the 2025 Golden Globes, in a sequin-coated strapless gown by Bottega Veneta. (Fun fact: It's one of the final designs Bottega creative director Matthieu Blazy is making before departing for Chanel.)

Stylist Jamie Mizrahi previously told Marie Claire that Madison's red carpet dressing is not so much about channeling her character—it's about "showing up as herself." And in this gold dress, coated in yards of bespoke sequins, she said she's worth the gold trophies she's competing for loud and clear.

Alexandra Daddario wearing custom Vivienne Westwood

I don't think any 2025 Golden Globes attendee had more fun than White Lotus star Alexandra Daddario, wearing custom Vivienne Westwood couture. Stylists often tell me they can sense when their clients love their look, and Daddario's giddy smile and posture say she adores her one-shoulder, showgirl feather neckline and subtly glittering skirt. I admit it: I grinned when I first saw her gown and bold red lip, too.

Anya Taylor-Joy wearing archival Dior

Where to start with Anya Taylor-Joy: her archival Dior dress, or the 64-carat Tiffany & Co. necklace she paired with it? Her slinky, blush pink dress, her coordinating fringe shawl, and her opulent floral collar necklace all conveyed the refinement defining her recent red-carpet style. Some vintage pulls are more about the history than the person wearing it, but this set fit Taylor-Joy to a T. And after months of seeing Taylor-Joy and stylist Ryan Hastings go cyber-punk for Furiosa promo in 2024, it's refreshing to witness the star embracing her softer side. Dior was the perfect house for Taylor-Joy to tap for her journey into The New Look's past: She's a frequent attendee at their Paris Fashion Week shows.