Lady Gaga, or how to appear on two red carpets on the same night

Not much gets in the way of Lady Gaga. The actor and singer, whose curriculum also includes other job titles as diverse as composer, activist, producer and occasional model, surprised her fans by adding the gift of ubiquity to her considerable list of talents. The star of House of Gucci was seen on the red carpet at the Bafta Awards in London, which were held at 8pm last Sunday, and then at the Critics’ Choice Awards in Los Angeles, at midnight on the same day. It doesn’t take the world’s greatest mathematician to see that the numbers don’t add up. Not even the fastest private jets can cover the 5,590 miles that separate the two cities in just four hours.

The explanation is considerably simpler: the organizers of the Critics’ Choice Awards held two ceremonies that were broadcast simultaneously, one at the Savoy Hotel in London and the other at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles, to ensure the presence of as many star names as possible. It was an emergency measure due to the event being postponed from its original date of January 9 as a result of the omicron coronavirus wave.

Despite being nominated for Best Actress at both awards ceremonies, Lady Gaga left empty-handed, but she made plenty of headlines anyway for the striking looks she selected for both events. But she wasn’t the only star to perform the double act: various actors followed suit, among them Ariana DeBose, Alana Haim, Emilia Jones, Rachel Zegler and Troy Kotsur.

On the red carpet at the Baftas, Gaga embodied the glamor of classic Tinseltown in a green gown with an elaborate train, a feathered purse (one of the trends of the season) and her hair styled in Hollywood curls in the signature style of Veronica Lake. Shortly afterwards, the star of Ridley Scott’s movie caught the eye with a far more daring outfit at the Critics’ Choice Awards.

For that occasion, Gaga chose a gold and black Gucci number with a spectacular neckline, topped off with jewelry from Tiffany & Co. This time, her hair was pinned back and her thick yellow make-up highlighted her eyes, giving her two completely contrasting looks and demonstrating the skill of her stylists, hair and make-up artists to pull off the change in record time. Although she hasn’t been nominated for an Oscar for her portrayal of Patrizia Reggiani in House of Gucci, Gaga will be at the ceremony in Hollywood on March 27 as a presenter, so her fans and style watchers have not seen the last of her on the red carpet this awards season.

Gaga was not alone in making an appearance at both the Baftas and the Critics’ Choice Awards, a night that will have implications in the eagerly anticipated Oscars race. Ariana DeBose, the overwhelming favorite to land the Best Supporting Actress statuette for West Side Story, underlined that status with wins in the same category at both ceremonies last Sunday. At the Critics’ Choice Awards, she collected her honor in a Carolina Herrera gown somewhere between yellow and orange. At the Baftas, DeBose went with a similar color, this time opting for a split-leg Oscar de la Renta dress.

Alana Haim, who like Gaga left both events without an award despite Best Actress nominations for Licorice Pizza, wore two Louis Vuitton numbers, green at the Baftas and black at the Critics’ Choice Awards. Emilia Jones, who received a Best Actress nomination at the Baftas and a Best Young Actor/Actress nomination at the Critics’ Choice Awards for her role in CODA, sparkled in a golden Atelier Versace and a more formal black-and-white Vuitton. The biggest winner of the night on both sides of the Atlantic was The Power of the Dog, Jane Campion’s western landing Best Picture and Best Director at both ceremonies.

The award for the most chameleonic attendee may have been won by Rachel Zegler, who although not nominated for an individual award for her portrayal of Maria in West Side Story, went one better than her peers by wearing three different outfits in just a few hours. At the Baftas she wore a deep blue, off-the-shoulder Vivienne Westwood and then switched to a feathered top and sequin skirt by David Koma for the after party. Later she was at the Critics’ Choice Awards in a Dior couture, courtesy of the deft touch of her stylist, Sarah Slutsky, the architect of the swiftest changes of look on the night.