The Brit Awards

by Kellie Murphy (Fashion Editor)

   I consider the Brit Awards to be a sort of an underdog when it comes to the world of award ceremonies, not that I know much about it. Despite having some of the best talent in Britain there, and the most memorable names like  Mick Fleetwood, the Beatles (who won three awards) and Freddie Mercury (who made his last public appearance there), it was seen as frumpy in the past. For more see Mick Fleetwood and Sam Fox presenting the Brits in 1989. Their stint as presenters would go down in history as one of the most embarrassing moments in British television and exemplified the sorry state that the Brits was in at that time. For fear of harming your sensibilities I would recommend not watching Sam Fox and Mick Fleetwood efforts at presenting. It was so grotesquely out of tune, they seemed to be reading two different sets of cue cards, Fox seemed to be just as confused as I was and Mick Fleetwood was drifting off into space. The award ceremony was unorganised and it seemed to be the death knell of the award show, in comparison to  other award ceremonies such as the Oscars which has almost always managed to maintain a popular image of class and poise. 

But the Brit Awards went through something of a revamp in the 2010s. The Brit Awards have always been one of the biggest award ceremonies in the music industry, which you can learn from a glance at notable attendees and winners but to avoid stagnation they turned to some saviours, most notably Vivienne Westwood who designed the trophies taken home by the winners in 2011. The Brit Awards completely changed the award ceremony, giving it much needed modernisation to bring drama back to the ceremony, replacing its lacklustre energy with something louder. One of these changes was the voting system for Album of the Year, which changed from music executives casting their vote to fellow musicians in the efforts to make the winning album feel more deserved and more relevant than other interests that may motivate the voting preferences of the industry executives. Overall, the Brit Awards has transformed from the eighties to the modern day triumph where the best of the UK’s talent meet for one night in the hopes of an accolade. What has always been maintained in the Brit Awards, whether it was going to the dogs or reaching new heights, was fashion. Pop stars have a great habit of wearing looks that are memorable through beauty, shock or both at award ceremonies and this has stood the test of time. I think a running commentary of the latest awards outfits is the perfect illustration of the changes that the Brit awards has gone through while still sticking to its core purpose, a celebration of Britain’s music and stars. 

Harry Styles: It would be a crime not to mention Harry for his four brilliant achievements alone. Winning four Brit awards, Styles has swept through the Brits trailblazing with his fame and fortune and paying homage to his life changing time as a member of One Direction, and his former bandmates who got him there. Styles won Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, Song of the Year and the Pop/R&B category. This was an outstanding win for Harry Styles and as an ardent fan I’ve never been prouder. But when it comes to Styles' suit I like to pretend it never happened. Harry Styles is known for his eclectic and interpretive sense of fashion so I was expecting something very funky at the award ceremony. And I did get that, I just kind of wish I didn’t get it in that way. Now before you start going off on a tirade I’d just like to say I usually love Harry’s fashion sense, I think it’s fun! Just not this time. The silhouette of the suit, matched with his tie? Scarf? Made him look like a wine glass. I did not want to drink from it. The severe, dull colour of this year's Brits outfit pales in comparison (see what I did there) to Harry Styles' 2022 Brit Awards outfit which even came with its own matching handbag! I would wear 2022’s suit, I have admired Harry in 2022’s suit. With this suit I just squinted my eyes at it. I think a positive to this year’s suit is its use of aviation techniques with the nice little ends of his suit jacket and pants so that he could be buoyed along with the air as he ran around the O2 arena after his well-deserved wins. But it is a fun silhouette even if it didn’t appeal to me personally. Three stars out of five, one for winning four BAFTAS, one for effort and another for confidence. 

Jodie Turner Smith: an elegant actress and model who appeared in Zayn Malik’s music video for ‘Pillowtalk’ and played Anne Boleyn in the Channel 5 series Anne Boleyn in 2021. She will be in a spin-off of Star Wars, a series called ‘The Acolyte’. Jodie Turner Smith is a rising star in Hollywood and her dress to the Baftas didn’t fall short of her path to fame. Shiny, silver, and beautiful, her dress is reminiscent of the eighties and a futuristic film combined to make this stunning creation. Sheaths of silver fabric cross over her stomach and torso, with one arm bare and the other covered by a close fitting sleeve and a silver cape shielding it, creating a beautiful silhouette. Unlike Harry Styles, her dress actually looks like something I could feel, and look, good in. It was designed by Zuhair Murad, a Lebanese fashion designer and she wore silver Chopard jewellery to match. The silver dress paired with silver jewellery and what seems to be metallic blue eyeshadow creates a starstruck effect. And in true movie star fashion Turner-Smith gets four stars out of five. She lost out on one star because I didn’t like the high neck on the dress, it feels a bit unnecessary when you see everything  that Turner-Smith has going on with the torso, especially considering her creative V-neck which I think is the best thing about the dress as it makes a beautiful knot effect. 

Sam Smith: The singer was aptly described by Bazaar as a star that “made headlines in an inflatable latex suit by Harri.” Whoever Harri is I want a written apology. Smith probably thought that this look was camp and pushing new boundaries in fashion. They were probably right because it could always double as a tent if you’re stuck for one. Sharp corners must have been Sam Smith’s enemy at the Brits for the danger they posed to their sensitive blow up outfit and the time it would have taken them to waddle around them. To be fair to them, it is memorable and it would almost look cool if they didn’t inflate their pants into the shape of a love heart. Maybe they were driven by feelings of ardour. My favourite thing about this outfit is their boots, but that’s probably because they're the only thing you could actually wear. I think the look would have been improved by a row of buttons going along the centre of their suit but I do realise this could have been an issue for inflation. But their outfit did make me laugh which I really appreciate in a time when assignment due dates are looming closer and closer so to Sam Smith I give two gold stars.