It is (sometimes unfortunately) the most outré outfits that tend to be rewarded online. But in a sea of attention-seeking looks – all rib-crunching corsets, rhinestone embellishments, catwalk-fresh feathers and fringe – sometimes, all it takes is a well-made LBD to reset the imagination. Meghan Markle, who has been upping her presence on red carpets, understands this: the power of elegant understatement.
To wit: the Duchess of Sussex was last night photographed at The Paley Honours Gala in Beverly Hills – an annual do celebrating those who have made significant contributions to the media – wearing a strapless Oscar de La Renta dress with an attenuated Logan Hollowell tennis necklace, a single Cartier bracelet and Stuart Weitzman sandals. Nothing elaborate. Nothing daring. Nothing too “fashion”. See also: the black Khaite pantsuit she last month wore to the launch of Highbrow Hippie.
Markle was deployed on yesterday’s red carpet as a representative of the Paley foundation’s committee, which had decided to name Tyler Perry – the actor, writer and producer who gave the Sussexes they keys to his Beverly Hills mansion when they first moved to the United States in June 2020 – as its 2024 honouree. The black dress was therefore the correct choice: formal, sophisticated, a backdrop to an event which is about so much more than pulling a look.
