The 37th GLAAD Media Awards rolled into the Beverly Hilton on March 5, and somewhere between Demi Lovato’s set and Liza Minnelli’s surprise drop-in, the carpet quietly turned into the best show of the evening. These are my favorite looks of the night, ranked from very good to do-not-disturb-me.
1. Lili Reinhart in Elie Saab
Embed from Getty ImagesThe gown of the night. Dark green floral lace, spaghetti straps, a scalloped neckline, the bodice nipped at the waist before flaring into a soft skirt – and then the lower half went sheer to reveal the corset bones underneath, which is the detail that turns a dress into a verdict. A mini Riverdale reunion with Camila Mendes on the side and the unofficial trophy in the bag.
2. Demi Lovato in Magda Butrym
Embed from Getty ImagesTwo looks, zero survivors. On stage: a red corset, the shortest shorts, fishnets, knee-high boots – rockstar, full stop. On the carpet: a sculptural cream Magda Butrym mini that pleated and twisted up the torso into a one-shoulder petal blooming straight off the shoulder, finished with sheer black tights, a slicked bun, and tiny emerald earrings.
3. Quinta Brunson in Leo Lin
Embed from Getty ImagesThis year’s Vanguard Award winner, and the Leo Lin look came with the best beauty moment on the carpet – gorgeous makeup, a stack of rings I keep zooming in on, and a sharp jacket doing all the structural work. Quinta holds a red carpet the way she holds a sitcom, completely, like it’s the easiest thing anyone’s ever done.
4. Cara Delevingne in Vintage Alaïa
Embed from Getty ImagesVintage Alaïa, and a clinic in saying everything by whispering. A sleek black dress, body-skimming, with a hood – slicked-back hair with one curled piece escaping the front like punctuation. Black heels, nothing else, conversation over. The kind of minimalism that reads as nothing and is actually impossible to pull off unless you happen to be Cara Delevingne, which, tragically, most of us are not.
5. Camila Mendes in Valentino
Embed from Getty ImagesThe sheer-and-beading risk that split the room, and I’m planting my flag on the yes side. Valentino sent her out in something built on transparency and scattered embellishment, and yes, it was a swing – but a Valentino swing on a Riverdale alum at a GLAAD carpet is exactly the kind of nerve I show up for. Half the internet clutched its pearls. I thought she looked like she knew something we didn’t.
6. Niecy Nash-Betts and Jessica Betts
Embed from Getty ImagesCoordinated couples are a high-wire act and these two have never once fallen off. Niecy in a blue color so good it deserves its own paint chip, Jessica locked in beside her with every seam exactly where it belongs. No designer got named, but the tailoring snitched on itself – somebody very good cut that. The rest of the carpet should be studying how to stand next to your person and read like a magazine cover instead of a group project.
7. Nadine Bhabha in Tanner Fletcher
Embed from Getty ImagesA black gown with a cream ruffled-floral trim foaming across the bust, ruched tight through the body, then breaking into a tiered, semi-sheer skirt – and the kicker, long nude opera gloves. Tanner Fletcher is the genderfluid New York label that lives for exactly this kind of vintage-tinged oddity, and the Heated Rivalry breakout wore it up to the stage to collect Outstanding New TV Series with the cast. Theatrical, specific, fully committed.
8. Jonathan Bennett in Jack Victor
Embed from Getty ImagesThe host, in a cobalt velvet Jack Victor tuxedo jacket with peak lapels, a crisp black bow tie, black trousers, and matching velvet slippers – old-school awards-host polish with the saturation cranked all the way up. And that was just the arrival: he spent the ceremony cycling through looks, including full drag and Alan Cumming’s actual “coffin coat,” lifted straight from The Traitors premiere
9. Meredith Marks in Victoria Beckham
Embed from Getty ImagesThe RHOSLC star and longtime GLAAD Ambassador showed up in a steel-blue Victoria Beckham gown – long sleeves, a high neck, liquid satin gathered into a twisted knot at the center waist so the entire skirt radiated out from one point. A little silver clutch, sleek center-parted hair, nothing raising its voice. It’s the most covered-up look in the top ten and somehow one of the most expensive-looking on the carpet.
10. Chrishell Stause in Sean Rentero
Embed from Getty ImagesA one-shoulder teal gown in a liquid, almost oil-slick satin that swirled with light every time she moved, draped into a sculptural origami fold at the shoulder, split high up the thigh, train trailing, gold strappy heels underneath. The Traitors winner – she went up to accept Outstanding Reality Competition alongside Parvati Shallow and Monet X Change – turned one saturated, shape-shifting color into the whole story.
Honorable Mentions (The Lightning Round)
Sheryl Lee Ralph – a strapless nude-based gown buried in oversized black floral appliqué, the dimensional blooms climbing the bodice before spilling into a full, sweeping skirt. No label surfaced, but it read as flat-out couture.
Embed from Getty ImagesLisa Ann Walter in Maria Lucia Hohan – a phenomenal, room-carrying color. There was also a mountain of fringe. The color won the argument anyway.
Embed from Getty ImagesFrankie Grande – head-to-toe embellished black lace and a smoky eye dark enough to file its own taxes. The man wore the occasion.
Embed from Getty ImagesLaverne Cox – the bones were fabulous and the glam was immaculate. The pink hot pants were a choice. A bold, fully Laverne choice. Respect.
Embed from Getty ImagesThat’s the carpet. Heated Rivalry, The Traitors, and Stranger Things cleaned up on the awards side, but the only competition I lose sleep over happens before anyone sits down. See you at the next one – bring more leather, more silver, and more sheer green lace to ruin me all over again.