Bob Mackie, THR’s Maer Roshan Win

What celebrities wear to awards shows is, at this point, pretty predicable. The protocol of Hollywood legacy demands they dress at least relatively tame.

But fashion people going to an awards show where they’re the celebs? There are no decorum dictates there! From gowns to shorts, heels to moto boots, fur to chiffon, minis to maxis, trad plaids to 3D florals, it was all on show at The Daily Front Row’s Eighth Annual Fashion Los Angeles Awards on Sunday night at the Beverly Hills Hotel — on ladies and gentlemen.

At this awards show — where honorees included the legendary Bob Mackie, A-list hairstylist Adir Abergel, makeup artist Rachel Goodwin, models Elsa Hosk and Amelia Gray, and The Hollywood Reporter co-editor-in-chief Maer Roshan — the dress code “anything goes” is an understatement.

The Daily, for those who don’t know, is a two-decade-old broadsheet magazine full of supermodels, designers and editors, handed out every day at fashion weeks — with a deliciously gossipy website, Fashionweekdaily.com.

While early arrivals to the hotel’s back lawn dressed to the hilt, all perfectly professionally made-up, their faces aren’t familiar to most outside of fashion. Yet many these sartorially splendid creatures — mostly high-level fashion influencers — have more Instagram and TikTok followers than most stars on streaming shows.

Cocktail hour on the lawn, on a lucky 75-degree (rare) Los Angeles spring evening, was not only dotted with the latest spring looks, but some of L.A.’s true fashion stars. Eddie Roche, The Daily’s chief content officer, explained how the honorees (such as beauty innovator of the year, style curator of the year) are chosen annually: “Editor-in-chief and CEO Brandusa Niro and I, plus staff, sit down and hash it out,” said Roche. But this crew knows from whence it speaks: The Daily’s given out well-attended annual awards for style, stylists and media in New York and L.A. for years. At the Hollywood version, memorable highlights over the years, recalled Roche, have included, “Keanu Reeves presenting to stylist Jeanne Yang, and Lady Gaga’s heartfelt 2019 speech to her hair stylist/wigmaker Frederic Asperis — two of my all-time favorite moments.”

The 2024 honoree for makeup artist of the year, Rachel Goodwin — who minds the visages of Emma Stone, Leslie Bibb, Sarah Michelle Gellar and more — arrived paying homage to her favorite designer, Dries van Noten. “I had to do it — this dress is from the last Dries women’s collection,” she said, admiring its black silk with tiny turquoise beading. “I put turquoise liner on my waterline as homage.” How long did it take the master makeup artist to do her own face? “Maybe half an hour!” she noted with a laugh. “With actors for red carpet, it’s two hours at least. I just threw on a red lip — that’s my party go-to.”

Lisa Rinna and husband Harry Hamlin arrived hand in hand, bubbling with excitement to see their 22-year-old daughter Amelia Gray (Hamlin) named as model of the year.

“This is big,” grinned Hamlin. “She’s been looking to do this since she was 15 years old — a dream come true for her. She did it all on her own, studying all the walks of models going back 40 years.” Rinna donned one of the standout dresses on a night packed with standout dresses: a cream long-sleeved gown, wrapped in horizontal black ribbons and bows all the way down. “It’s Jackson Wiederhoeft,” Rinna described. “My stylist Danyul Brown told me, ‘You have to wear him — he’s going to take off any minute.’ I put it on, it fit — I said, ‘Done!’” Wiederhoeft is a 30-year-old wunderkind Brooklyn designer of bridal and black tie who worked for Thom Browne and gives his collections names that give customers a real sense of his over-the-top aesthetic: a recent one was dubbed “Night Terror of the Opera.”

Then the natty crowd moved into a ballroom at The Beverly Hills Hotel for the show hosted by Australian comedian-actress Celeste Barber, who’s getting her own new Netflix show this year. “Sit down, you people,” she commanded the air-kissy crowd. “Kris Jenner’s here! Have some respect!” This was Barber’s second The Daily stint: She couldn’t help but remind the audience of her big 2019 moment: “It was pre-Ozempic,” she amusingly recalled. “I guess we’re not allowed to have asses anymore. But five years ago, I was here telling you about that video of me making out with Tom Ford on the subway.” Rather proud of this (rare) accomplishment, she showed it — for emphasis.

Gellar, wearing a tiny pink and green sparkly strapless Oscar de La Renta, presented the first award, to makeup artist Godwin. “I think I’ve spent more time with Rachel over time than my husband of 20 years,” Gellar said with a laugh. “Rachel’s makeup is flawless. She’s also my therapist and confidant. Touching up my face, she’s touching up my soul.” Godwin was already tearing up on the way to the podium. “My sons ask me why I’m always so fancy,” she sniffed. “I tell them it’s my job — they don’t believe me. But I have to say, every single celebrity who’s ever sat in my chair has taught me something. My credo — what the late great makeup artist Paul Starr once told me: ‘Go out and make art like the universe is counting on it.’”

Roshan, THR’s own co-editor in-chief, was presented editor of the year by none other than Ryan Murphy, whose own Hollywood start was as a journalist. Murphy recounted highlights of Roshan’s long and prestigious career in publishing at such outlets as Interview, New York Magazine and Talk, as founder of sites Radar and The Fix and as editor-in-chief of Los Angeles Magazine for five years, before going on to THR last September. “Maer was handpicked as a talent early on by media stars Kurt Anderson and Tina Brown,” praised Murphy of Roshan’s long career. “That tells you a lot.”

Accepting his award, Roshan, in a snappy blue Todd Snyder suit, thanked many colleagues, including THR co-editor-in-chief Nekesa Mumbi Moody and his entire family — mom, two brothers, one sister-law — who cheered him on from mid-crowd. “It’s been great working, collaborating, with my colleague and co-editor Nekesa Mumbi Moody, as we’re united in the task of taking The Hollywood Reporter to an even higher level in reporting than it already is,” said Roshan.

Announcing the award for fashion entrepreneur of the year, Barber quipped, “Everyone in L.A. thinks they’re an entrepreneur — they all have three distinct hustles. Everyone else is unemployed. The entrepreneurs may be, too.”  Swedish supermodel Elsa Hosk accepted the award, given in recognition of her 2-year-old line of clothes, Helsa, founded with shopping website Revolve. “An early great moment was on a flight from New York to L.A.,” described Hosk. “I sat next to a woman who loved my floor-length trench coat. When I told her it was Helsa, she bought it right in front of me.”

Erin Walsh, veteran stylist to such stars as Anne Hathaway, Selena Gomez, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kerry Washington — and a regular on The Hollywood Reporter’s Top 25 Stylists list — was named style curator of the year. She recalled her journey from “lowly fashion assistant at Vogue to this. And I’ve seen lots of people look at fashion and feel bad about themselves. But if you’re brave enough to love all of yourself, you can learn to curate fashion from your very soul.”

Surprised to hear “soul” at what could come off like a superficial event? It was, oddly, the most repeated word of the evening.

Momager Lisa Rinna introduced super-stylist and magazine founder Katie Grand (of Brit mags Dazed and Confused, Love and Perfect), who introduced Gray, after which the 2024 model of the year slithered to the stage in a skintight flesh-toned semi-sheer Alaïa.

“I’ve never won an award,” noted the visibly emotional young woman. “I don’t know how to stand on a podium! Katie Grand put me in my very first editorial, she told me to dye my hair black — and it’s worked for me. Being a model makes me feel whole!”

Um — OK. An Oscar speech, it wasn’t. But you have to cut a 22-year-old some slack.

Jennifer Garner, in a stunning red and blue color block Rosie Assouline sheath, presented hair stylist of the year to her friend/stylist, Adir Abergel, one of the best-loved figures in the Hollywood image machine. “There is not a head of hair in Hollywood that he hasn’t made better,” she gushed. “Adir is every artist’s biggest fan.” The whimsical Abergel — donning an avant-garde Namilia black suit covered with a white cage detail by Heather Huey — gave such a meaningful delivery, he actually moved this somewhat glacial crowd. “In an era of true division, it’s serious we stand together as artists,” he heartily declared. “Art can change so many lives with our stories. Stars trust us with their stories — and their vulnerability.”

Fear of God’s chic Jerry Lorenzo took designer of the year in his own label’s oversized cream sweatshirt and baggy pale grey pants. “L.A. isn’t necessarily known for fashion,” Lorenzo noted. “But we have a sophisticated sense and elegance in our own way. That’s the L.A. approach to fashion. Not everything has to be luxury — you can just be the best version of you.”

None other than Kris Jenner presented beauty innovator of the year to eyebrow queen Anastasia Soare, who reinvented the beauty business by creating shapely architectural eyebrows for clients like Oprah Winfrey, Madonna, Kate Capshaw — and of course, the Kardashian Jenners. “This is the very first beauty innovator award,” the Romania-born entrepreneur announced. “When I got to this country, I didn’t even speak the language. There were many doubters about me, but I was not one of them. A lot of people in this room have been my clients since.” She thanked her daughter Claudia, now president of their company, recalling, “She put us on the map with Instagram back in 2012. We were the first beauty brand to do it.” Seeing Insta’s now infamous scroll of beauty ads, that’s saying something.

Next up, the amazing Doja Cat, in a full-length fur and oversized black glasses, gushing over Brett Alan Nelson, music stylist of the year, who’s put her in such major scene-making looks (see: her face painted red to match her Schiaparelli couture), that he helped turn her into an instant fashion star. “He’s my voice, my genie and more importantly, my family,” she purred. Acknowledged Nelson, flippantly dressed in crisp white shorts and a matching long duster, “Doja and I have done some amazing looks. And we’ll do more.” Then he exited the stage with one of the more unique closing lines in awards show history: “But now, I have to pee.” Barber followed up without any hesitation: “We all have to pee! Let’s get on with it!”

The final award of the evening — the lifetime achievement award — went to the great Mackie, whose documentary of his six-decade career, Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion, comes out May 13. The audience got a sneak peak of Mackie in the doc, both as a costumer and a fashion designer, at work on such TV shows as The Sunny and Cher Comedy Hour and RuPaul’s Drag Race. Mackie’s best-known client, Cher, as well as Law Roach, Zendaya’s stylist, appear in the film. Roach then presented to the 84-year-old Mackie, calling him “The Duke of Duchesse Satin, the Sultan of Silk Chiffon, the Father of Fringe, the God of Glamour” — just some of the monikers the master costumer has earned over 60 years. Barber added that Mackie designed “17,000 costumes for The Carol Burnett Show alone.”

The ever-dapper Mackie got the only (well-earned) standing ovation of the night. “After sitting here all evening,” he started, modestly, “I kept thinking: Where the hell am I? I’d love to work with the crew in this room!! Seeing all these people dressed the way they are made me so happy to know: They just love dressing up.” He ended the night appropriately with this line: “Fashion was always so boring to me. That’s why I went into show business.”

Who would think, six decades later later, they’re now simply one and the same?