While there were several all-white looks on the BAFTAs red carpet this year, it was undoubtedly the new iteration of power shoulder that stole the show. From Margot Robbie's epic Chanel couture dress to Rachel Weisz's romantic Gucci gown, it was all about statement shoulder details. And it makes sense – oversized, dramatic shoulders, in all their forms, have long been associated with power dressing for women. Most notably, this translated to huge, padded shoulders in the tailoring of the 80s, associated with independent, working women attempting to infiltrate typically patriarchal workplaces. So, given that 2019 follows a year in which both the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements emerged, it makes sense that women would appropriate power dressing on their own terms.
There was Rachel Weisz in her aforementioned Gucci gown, complete with tiered, frilled shoulders. And Margot's structured, tulle shoulders on her Chanel dress – perhaps a nod to the Elizabethan silhouettes we see her in as Elizabeth I in Mary Queen of Scots. Eleanor Tomlinson rocked an oversized bow on her asymmetric Ralph & Russo gown, while Amy Adams's bows were slightly smaller but no less of a statement on the shoulders of her Prada creation.
Salma Hayek also chose Gucci, which was a velvet, one-shoulder affair, complete with a jewel-encrusted chameleon. And Millie Mackintosh opted for romantic ruffles that fell off her shoulders, designed for her by Halfpenny London. Cate Blanchett's Christopher Kane dress featured angular, futuristic shoulders that gave way to a a décolletage full of gemstones and the power of Regina King's shoulders lay in their simplicity – her Versace gown featured just two slips of fuchsia material on each shoulder.
Lastly but by no means least, the Duchess of Cambridge rocked her own version of the power shoulder in the form of delicate white flowers adorning her one-shouldered Alexander McQueen gown.
Forget the boxy silhouettes of the 1980s, 2019 has a new power shoulder – and is not afraid to use it.