BAFTAs Red Carpet 2023: Prince William and Kate Middleton Mingle With Hollywood Royalty

There was a distinctly bridal vibe on the red carpet Sunday night, and the future Queen of England blended right in.

By Nora Biette-Timmons | February 19, 2023 | 11:20pm

Beauty Style

We’re neck deep in awards season at this point, and Sunday night brought us the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards at Royal Hall in London. A few famous fashionistas who never fail (**cough cough** Jodie Turner-Smith and Florence Pugh) really put their backs into their red carpet looks, too proud to phone in a fashion moment, even for the BAFTAs. But other celebs very clearly wore their fourth- or fifth-choice looks for this—there was a whole lot of solid white and basic formal menswear tonight—giving the event a noticeably bridal vibe.

Did Kate Middleton call up a bunch of A-listers to ask for the evening’s theme? Does she share a stylist with them? Unclear, but she showed up in a Kleinfeld’s-esque dress and blended right in. A royal coincidence!

Let’s take a look at the great, the meh, and the ugly.

Florence Pugh

Pugh looks absolutely radiant in a structural, tulle, tangerine Nina Ricci mermaid gown. The crimped ruffles are everything, and you can tell from her face that she’s feeling herself. This is how you do a red carpet.

Anya Taylor-Joy in Schiaparelli Couture

Little Gold Riding Hood! It’s not my favorite fit of the night but not the worst—the color washes her out a little, but at least she took a risk.

Angela Bassett

It’s really hard to rock a solid lavender gown without looking like a reluctant bridesmaid, but somehow this works? The sleeves are interesting enough to cancel out the basicness of the color, and honestly, Angela can pull off anything.

Prince William and Princess Catherine

The Oscars better have an invite to Meghan and Harry in the mail. But pivoting to Kate: I’m not sure about her outfit here—the black gloves are on trend and timeless, which only kind of makes up for the fact that she’s wearing a wedding dress that could be from Kleinfeld’s.

Sophie Turner

Subtly Game of Thrones, with that chain-mail-inspired netting, but still chic as hell.

Paul Mescal

Paul played it quite safe here and looks chic as always, but am I wrong in detecting some sadness radiating from him? Call me, my little Irish snack, I’ll cheer you up.

Vera Wang

This woman is 73 years old.

Olivia Cooke

Cooke is a phenomenal actor—and is responsible for posing the question that gave us “negroni...spagliato...with Prosecco in it”—but this outfit looks like it was quickly modified from the House of the Dragon costume closet, and I don’t mean that as a compliment. What is it with all the bridal inspo tonight?

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley

What is this codpiece-inspired mess?? Is her unsubtle audition for a sexy, gender-bent Shakespeare production? A chastity belt? I hate it.

Rami Malek

Thank you, sir, for this delightful photo, though your fit is giving me nothing to discuss here.

Ana de Armas

I get that she’s going for a sexy, bed-head-y Marilyn inspired get-up here, but this is so half-hearted and boring. Another goddamn bridesmaid on the red carpet.

Emma Thompson

Continuing with the all-white trend. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend a double double-breasted ’fit, but of course Emma pulls it off—and her sneakers are rad.

Jodie Turner-Smith

The alternating feathers and sequins; the face glitter; the dolman-esque sleeves—this is a ’70s fever dream, and I mean that heartily as a compliment. Jodie really never misses.

Andreea Cristea

I’ve never heard of Andreea Cristea before, but based on this dress, I’m willing to bet she’s cheering for the zombie mushrooms in The Last of Us.

Nicola Coughlan

I love this. On their own, those black roses are a little too Hot Topic for me, but on this luscious cream silk, they look cheeky and fun.

Lily Allen

Almost didn’t recognize Lily in the blonde bob! She got the memo about the white party, apparently, but she went less bridal than the rest. This flirty little vanilla cupcake frock at least sparks joy.

Cate Blanchett

Cate can simply do no wrong. The frayed/feather (?) edges bring interest to a simple black gown, which feels especially cool in a sea of white and lavender.

Austin Butler

The men all played it super safe and classic tonight. Can’t complain, but can’t particularly clap for them, either. Nice....tailoring on the very handsome, talented, deep-voiced man who just won the BAFTA for Best Actor!