GOLDEN GLOBES: A RED CARPET REVIEW

It's one thing to come off the red carpet having been dazzled by sparkle and pizzazz (asDiana Vreeland used to say) -- not to mention adrenaline -- and it's another to sit down a day or two later and really eyeball those Golden gowns -- and read into them, or from them, all kinds of things you didn't see in the afterglow of arrivals.

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For one, we were impressed with loyalty. The days of Audrey Hepburn wearing all Hubert de Givenchy are gone, and most actresses juggle designers the way jugglers throw balls up in the air -- but Cate Blanchett clearly has a long and serious relationship with Giorgio Armani and Armani the brand. Jennifer Lawrence stayed true to Dior -- even if her winning Globe dress looked a bit too much like her winning Oscar dress. Zooey Deschanel stuck with her Oscar de la Rentastreak ("He does the feminine/girly thing that I love so well," she told The Hollywood Reporter), while Zoe Saldana once again wore a cool design by her good friend Prabal Gurung. Naomi Wattsstunned in Tom Ford, but admitted she wore him because Liev wore him, and it was Liev's night, she told reporters. And Amy Poehler stuck with Stella McCartney all evening, while Tina Feyclung close to Carolina Herrera. And guess what? It worked for all of them. It doesn't hurt when a designer learns your taste, your figure and your attitude - and builds from there. Not to mention that these ladies didn't care to bust out a new name on an important night -- they went with the tried and true, and in these fickle fashion days, that's something. Designer name dropping isn't what it used to be.

The prevalence of all things shiny -- particularly silver -- can't be underplayed. At the 2013 Oscars, almost every actress wore some variation of art deco style gold-black-and-silver. And those dresses were heavy with beads, and clingy at the same time. The Globes now carried on this new look for evening: down played shapes, even sleeves (Olivia Wilde in Gucci, Gwyneth Paltrow) in colored beads that catch the light and show off the body. This means no miles of fabric or trains (looking less and less modern), and a modern take on night time that no woman should dismiss. A sequin or fully beaded dress that fits well and even clings a little is basically a hot number. First of all, it's hard to make beading that light. Beaded dresses used to weigh many pounds and prohibited movement. Look out, Grammys! There will be mini versions -- and no doubt, micro. Silver was the hue for Michelle Dockery, Naomi Watts and Sarah Paulson, to name a few, and here's what we learned: silver is really flattering on the skin under bright lights. And shine plays well with a nude lip and undone hair. If the dress has all the heat, keep everything else on a low burner -- this is good advice. Some of the more bright beading was on Drew Barrymore's red beads on nude Monique L'hullier. Even Sally Hawkins' vintage Dior was smattered with lovely antique beading.

Amy Adams' red and burgundy Valentino halter definitely created a new plateau for evening wear. When one tone doesn't grab em, two definitely will. Sandra Bullock'sPrabal Gurung pink-blue-black gown actually had three tones. Lawrence's white Dior dress was accented with black ribbon. There was a lot of slashes of another tone at the neck or the hem. How the tones play off each other -- in this case, contrast -- is where the drama is. Look for this at every awards show through the next Emmys, at least, and at the upcoming Paris couture shows.

High/Low

Just like the ubiquitous one-shouldered looks of years gone by, now we have asymmetry at the hemline (Caitlin Fitzgerald, Michelle Dockery, Sandra Bullock). This is happening with day-length skirts as well. And you can bet the shoe designers are loving it! So are the trainers -- those legs have got to be worked to look like that. It's a fun -- yes, fun -- new look for black tie as it makes it a little less stiff and formal, while still being incredibly festive. We're liking the playfulness. However, don't expect to see it at the Oscars -- it doesn't have enough gravitas.

There were essentially three ways to go: undone (Olivia Wilde, Naomi Watts, Reese Witherspoon) or super-sleek (Sandra Bullock, Emma Watson, Margot Robbie, Amy Adams, Mila Kunis) -- both runway looks from spring 2014 -- and then what we can affectionately refer to as "helmut head" -- very set and laquered hair with lots of volume: Cate Blanchett's hair looked like something from a Versace ad circa 1985, and Jessica Chastain's locks were puffed up and heightened with spray at the roots. Is stiff porcelain-like hair back from the dead? Are those beachy waves finally going out to sea? Only the fall 2014 shows will tell us -- and the Oscars, of course. But if we see one more banana curl in piles of hair extensions -- we're going Jennifer Lawrence and Charlize Theron pixie.

THE BEAUTY

Sure, there were a few red lips in play: Emma Watson, Sandra Bullock, and a few others. But mostly you could barely see the makeup. Sure, there were lashes and eyeliner and a bit of shine, but Anna Gunn, Julia Roberts, Amy Adams, Jennifer Lawrence, and almost every other actress had soft natural makeup on. After years of red lips, nude looks modern again -- and even beyond that -- it looks youthful.

THE ACCESSORIES

Sorry, jewelry brands and designers -- most of the earrings were studs and the necklaces that did appear were small. No blazing 20 karat numbers, no chunky chandelier earrings. Jewelry, even at night time, is delicate, more personal, and the dress definitely is where the attention is going. Plus, the jewelry in many cases was actually on the dresses. Rings and earrings can't compete with that.

What does it all mean? It all comes down to modern -- and that evening clothes are getting a little more -- casual. Unstiff. Julia Roberts' Dolce&Gabbana gown was strapless over a crisp white shirt. It looks like evening is the new day -- and of course, day is the new evening, with higher heels and shorter shinier skirts. But this is what comes of the fast world we all live in -- with rarely ever enough time to change at night -- we go to work in dressier clothes and go out in more casual ones. It's good designers finally good up to our lives.

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Burberry rains on fashion parade

It is the most prominent label at men’s fashion week, but is Burberry getting too big for its designer boots?

Patrick Grant, who is one of London’s leading designers, says his catwalk show on Wednesday has been thrown into turmoil by an edict by the mackintosh company.

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“Burberry have just decided that none of the models who walk in their show can walk in any other shows that day,” Grant complains toMandrake at Esquire’s opening night party of London Collections: Men. “Of course, my show is on Wednesday, too, so I now have to book four new boys at the last minute.”

Grant, the creative director of the tailors Norton & Sons of Savile Row, says: “It’s ridiculous, though, because models are always booked to walk more than one show in a day. It happens all the time. Just when you think you are all ready for something, someone like Burberry comes along and do something like this.”

The Scotsman, who is a regular in the magazines’ “best dressed” lists, is a judge on the BBC television series The Great British Sewing Bee.

London’s men’s fashion week was first held two years ago, with Burberry playing a leading role.

“London is the creative heart of Burberry and our global headquarters, so we are incredibly excited to be showing our next men’s collection here,” Christopher Bailey, the label’s chief creative officer, said last year.

“The country’s proud menswear heritage and outstanding contemporary talent give it a unique and powerful energy. It is a wonderful time to be bringing our menswear show home.”

Why the stars see me as God

Boffins decreed that Monday was the most depressing day of the year, but Ronnie Corbett and Nancy Dell’Olio had reason to smile, or snigger.

They watched the first of my week’s performances as God in Spamalot. “Can I please quote you as saying I was as good as Ben Whishaw inHamlet?” I asked Nancy. She laughed. Ronnie said it amounted to “a masterclass in acting”.

They joined an eclectic group, including Michael Grandage, Simon McCoy, and Alan and Gina Miller, who raised a few glasses of Veuve Clicquot to me for having a bash. ATG, the theatre group run by Sir Howard Panter, is to donate £5 to the Telegraph Christmas Appeal for every ticket purchased via the Telegraph box office.

Open road

Tracey Emin has made a practical new year’s resolution. “I am going to take driving lessons in America,” she tells me at a dinner hosted by Tommy Hilfiger and Jonathan Newhouse.

“I can legally drive out there, but it terrifies me. I want to learn properly so I’m not a nervous wreck on the roads.”

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Interview: Sorcha O’Raghallaigh

Not many young Irish people today look to the Catholic Church as a source of artistic inspiration but Offaly native Sorcha O’Raghallaigh has made a fashion career out of it. Hailing from Birr, the Irish fashion designer has risen to the top of London’s fashion industry in a just few short years, dressing icons such as Lady Gaga and Kate Moss, with catholic religious iconography forming the basis for her couture collections. Beyoncé is probably the most recent big name to appear in one of O’Raghallaigh’s dresses, which can be seen in the preview for her new video “Mine”.

After studying art in Limerick, O’Raghallaigh relocated to London to pursue fashion: “I moved to London almost eight years ago and my choice to stay here is because I love living in this city!’ She denies however that Ireland lacks a viable fashion industry for up and coming designers. ‘We are in a powerful age where the Internet dominates so location is not as important as it once was. I think as long as you work hard and put yourself and your work out there you can accomplish anything regardless of where you are based.”

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O’Raghallaigh undertook a degree in London’s prestigious fashion school Central Saint Martins, where she burst onto the scene in the graduate show, with her models walking the runway in stilts, draped in layers of ruffled knitwear, crochet and lace. In 2012, she was snapped up by Selfridges Bright Young Things, an initiative which showcases and sells the work of rising stars. Since then Sorcha has been pursuing her career by producing seasonal collections in London.

Renowned for its mysterious and ethereal essence, her aesthetic is finds its centre in the use of Roman Catholic iconography. The latest collection stays true to this. The look pictured is reminiscent of the Child of Prague, and many of her pieces encapsulate religious female idolatry, with a subversive twist.

One of her key Autumn/Winter ‘13 pieces is a completely sheer white lace wedding dress. On her unique style she says: “I’ve always been drawn to religious art, memorabilia and the idea of ceremony. I no longer practice religion but I guess growing up in Ireland there was always a strong sense of the Catholic Church so maybe it’s the feeling of nostalgia as well as the purely aesthetic side that continues to inspire me. As I’ve gotten older I’ve developed a fascination for other religions’ rituals and aesthetics. It’s just something I’m continually fascinated with.”

Her religious-inspired style has taken the London fashion scene by storm and recent fashion houses have displayed similar elements to her style. Most notably Dolce & Gabanna’s A/W 13 collection used rich blood reds, lace and gold accessories. However, O’Raghallaigh remains humble and denies any imitation on their part: “I would be crazy to consider that any big fashion house is referencing my work.”

Following classic feminine silhouettes, her pieces are drowned in luxurious tulle and lace, but are still sexually provocative. They are decadent and ornate, decorated with intricate hand-crafted beading and accessories such as gold and silver crowns, necklaces and beaded stockings, interestingly all constructed out of safety pins. Hand-crafted pieces are her staple and she is already, at her young age, a master of couture.

Her most recent collection is no doubt more commercial than her earlier collections yet still maintains the subtleties of her signature style. Her first collection was highly avant-garde, catering to the likes of Lady Gaga, who christened one of her pieces her ‘wedding dress’ when she appeared in it on the Graham Norton show in 2011. Recalling the incident O’Raghallaigh says, ‘It was a huge honour and a moment I will never forget.’ Recruited by Lady Gaga’s stylist Anna Trevelyan, she was commissioned to make her several pieces. Trevelyan said of O’Raghallaigh: “She is very uniquely talented. I really believe that she is a true artist, what she does is couture.”

Overall, her work is astounding for its simple aesthetic pleasures. One of her greatest accomplishments is taking something regarded as ugly in the eyes of young Irish people and making it beautiful again.

Sorcha O’Raghallaigh is currently working on her next collection, and her most recent work can be viewed on her website.

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Salvador, Bahia, Brazil: Africa in the Americas

I don’t know if it is a will of iron, Ogun or foolishness, but I caught something viral, which I refused to keep, on the plane Monday, Dec. 23, when I flew to San Salvador, El Salvador, by mistake – yes, the booking agent booked me for San Salvador when I clearly said Salvador, BAHIA, Brazil (smile). I kept seeing San Salvador and thought, well, perhaps this is another way of referencing Salvador, Bahia.

I didn’t know I was in the wrong country until I got to customs and the lady told me to pay $10 US for a tourism permit. I am, like, why, when I have a visa? She looked at my passport and looked back at me and said, “You are not in Brazil.”

I’d wondered why I understood the language when I got off the plane, and why there were no Black people or at least people who looked like me (smile). I am still not seeing many Black people yet, now that I am in the right country. Folks are lighter complexioned. It is like I got dropped into New Orleans circa early 19th century on someone’s plantation. I know there have to be dark complexioned Brazilians in Salvador; I just haven’t seen them yet – right?

I saw a pretty Black sister dancing in the Balé Folclórico da Bahia performance I went to Saturday night at Teatro Miguel Santuro. That was fun, seeing this wonderful company at home. It is a smaller ensemble – they probably trade off. The show was just an hour for $40 BRL or $20 US, $25 US if you purchased the DVD of the performance, which I did. I might go again and ask if I can take photos.

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OK, back to Monday, Dec. 23, when I was in San Salvador, to Tuesday, when I had to go get my luggage from San Francisco International Airport – Aviantas didn’t send my luggage with me. It was a turnaround trip. Spent all day in the airport with a really kind and patient agent trying to get the other agency that goofed up my ticket on the line so they could reissue a corrected ticket to me. It took seven hours, but eventually they admitted their mistake and promised to arrange another flight.

I didn’t know that if you go to a country without a visa, if you leave the airport, you can get arrested. It’s a good thing the mistake was to San Salvador, where not only do we not need a visa, they use U.S. currency – like Zimbabwe (smile). Small world indeed.

Of course, when the woman at the travel agency that goofed told me in November, when I got the ticket, she could beat the price and travel time that I’d researched, I should have been suspicious – five hours to get to Brazil?! Talk about wishful thinking. When I finally arrived in Salvador, Bahia, on Saturday, Dec. 28, 2013, at 12:48 a.m., I’d spent four hours in Miami and eight hours in Brasilia and then an additional four hours in Salvador.

Yep, I was tired but it is totally worth it (smile). I met a really nice and famous man in the airport last night. He started his career as a photographer; now he is a famous fashion designer. He launched the career of the first AfroBrazilian model, Luana de Noailles, whose given name is Raimunda Nonata of Sacramento, also from Salvador. She became a legend in the 1970s and 80s, 15 years before Naomi Campbell.

In Brazil she modeled for Rhodia, a powerful textile industry, where she met Carlos Dantas, my friend at the airport in Salvador. She then went to Italy and France, where her name graced fashion houses Yves Saint Laurent and Christine Dior. She married a French count and retired.

Mr. Dantas has a business in Miami, where he has lived for the past 24 or so years. He and his partner design costumes for the Miami opera and others at ABC Costume Shop. He was fun to talk to. He also makes porceline dolls and is coming up with a clothes line using recycled materials. Lately he has been doing a lot with denim. Cosmopolitan, he was visiting his brother in Salvador and told me that he’s lived in Italy, France and Bangkok, now Miami.

I do not recommend traveling with so many stops, but hey, I was excited. And after a false start, I took the new itinerary without critiquing the details – they didn’t appear until the day before in my email box.

That was no excuse; I had the itinerary account number, but I was tired of holding for the agent at the travel agency, which I am intentionally not naming. The real reason I didn’t check was becasue I was grading portfolios for the four classes I taught in fall semester 2013. I was also trying to feel like writing my final papers. I know – I should have stayed my globetrotting self home and taken care of the bread and butter responsibilities.

But when I turned 50 five years ago, I told myself I would not spend another New Year’s in the United States and, well, I broke my stride last year because my grandson was born in December and I’d planned to take his sister to the inaugaration. It was an economic decision. Bree turned 10 on the flight back from D.C. in January 2013. She’s a great big sister too.

So I was overdue for the homeland. I had to go to Africa this past summer, East Africa where I met Mzee Pete O’Neal and got a chance to see Mama C (Charlotte O’Neal) at home with her king. Quite remarkable paradise they have created; it is truly America in Africa. Loved it there. I miss Upesi, whose guest house I stayed at this summer. She is an ancestor now.

So I get through immigration in Brasilia, where I think they are going to ask for my shot record and the address where I am staying and a lot of other information – and the Brazilian immigration officers are so low key. They even smile, something the SFO guys never do.

At baggage claim, I am looking for my luggage and then find out almost an hour later it’s on another carrousel. I brought a box with toys and crayons and coloring books and other little toys for the kids. I hope to get to a favela here. I hear there is one in Salvador. After having a packed suitcase for Dec. 23, and having another two days to try it again, you would think I would have it together Dec. 26? Well, maybe if my name wasn’t Wanda Sabir or, as my passport reads, Wanda Ali Batin Sabir.

I am feeling rotten Thursday, the first day of Kwanzaa – Habari gani? What’s the news? Sore throat, slight cough and maybe a fever (smile).

It is so hot here – at least in the 80s, maybe hotter. I am drenched again as soon as I get out of the shower, which, at the first place I stay, has just cold water. The lounge furniture is made from plastic soft drink bottles. Really chic and stylish.

I go to the health food store after I leave the drugstore and buy homeopathic cough medicine and put some in a travel bottle to take along the way. I start taking the Wellness formula and Defense Plus and swallow liquid garlic pills by the handful. I also do granulated vitamin C and carry ginger tea and a thermal cup which I keep filled with hot liquid. I am feeling pretty good now Saturday night; maybe it’s Sunday – we are five hours ahead of California.

I am also carrying oatmeal and trail mix, just in case I can’t eat the breakfast. Today I didn’t get dinner. I missed the vegetarian restaurant where one of my housemates told me they sell vegan beans and rice. I will have to locate beans and rice tomorrow. I am hungry.

So TaSin, my younger daughter, comes to pick me up Thurday evening and guess what? When we arrive at the airport, I realize that I left my carryon at home. TaSin drives back to my apartment to get it for me – bless her (smile). I am worried because the plane door will lock at 9 p.m. and well, for those who have traveled, TSA is not a process one can rush.

I explain my situation to an agent in first class and she writes on my boarding pass “expedite,” so I go through another line which is not a line – I am the only one in it. Yes, TaSin makes it back. She calculated the journey mathmatically and it took her exactly 80 minutes round trip. She leaves at 7:20 p.m. At 8:40 she rolls up and I get the suitcase and walk back in.

In the special line, I don’t have to take off my shoes. I don’t have to take my laptop out of the suitcase. I could have kept on my jacket if I were wearing one. Why do they make the regular passengers jump through these extra hoops?

I get through security and to the gate with time to spare. I am amazed. Now that I am here in Salvador, I wish I’d left some of my clothes behind. There was heat on the flight. I flew American to Miami and then switched to TAM. Miami airport is another story – it is like a city. I had to walk for almost an hour to the airport wing where TAM was located.

In Brasilia I had another long journey in Portugese. Some places in the world one can manage with English; Brazil is not that place. No one speaks English, not even officials.

They smile and look as if Portuguese will come from lips that speak with one of many forked linguistic tongues. I haven’t been carrying my English-Portuguese dictionary TaSin’s friend Cassie loaned me. I will have to start doing so.

Also I usually get a cell phone when I arrive in a new country. It is not easy to get a cell phone here either and the public phones take a pre-paid credit card. I don’t know how this will work if everything is in Portuguese.

I have been carrying the card with the address for where I am staying and everyone has kindly pointed me in the right direction. I get lost easily and my navigators TaSin and Brianna are not with me (smile).

I say all this to say, I am having fun despite traveling since Thursday evening. I went to bed at 5 a.m. this morning and then moved to another hostel, Laranjeiras Hostel, one of the Hosteling International group – much better facility – there are tours and Francisco speaks English.

We walked my luggage up the street from Hospeda Salvador in the Pelrourinho district. David was nice, but the place is more for the traveler with everything a bit more together than me – it is like living with a family.

We walked my luggage to the next spot. It’s hard rolling luggage on cobble stones (smile).

The cobble stone streets remind me of Tana, the capital of Madagascar. They also remind me of Guanajuato, Mexico, Eurocentric picturesque. It isn’t a French look, though, but the balconies call it to mind. Historic Salvador, Pelourinho, did not remind me of the French Quarter in New Orleans like Haiti’s Milot did when I was there a while back.

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