The BAFTAs red carpet is synonymous with glitz, glamour and outlandish outfits.
However the 2022 ceremony saw celebrity arrivals cause onlookers to sigh in disappointment with their surprisingly subdued and boring ensembles as they arrived at London’s Royal Albert Hall on Sunday.
It follows claims that celebrity attendees were advised to ‘dress respectably’ due to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The event saw the likes of Benedict Cumberbatch, Daisy Ridley and Jessie Buckley hit the star-studded photocall. But according to reports, celebrities were unanimously planning to dress in black in advance.
‘Several senior showbiz agents have advised stars to dress respectably, amid fears attention-grabbing dresses and suits would appear distasteful in light of the Ukraine conflict,’ a source told the Sun on Sunday.
‘The last thing they want is something like Lady Gaga’s infamous meat dress or anything too controversial.’
Lady Gaga infamously wore a meat dress to the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards.
Predictable: Many celebrities stuck to the suggested black dress code, with Lady Gaga (left) and Jessie Buckley (right) opting to go with the flow
Age-defying: Joanna Scanlan also opted for a black dress, while accessorising her look with a gold purse
And Janet Street Porter took aim at the events organisers writing: ‘It’s business as usual. The organisers clearly believe “we’ve got through Covid, let’s carry on enjoying ourselves”.
‘Wouldn’t we respect them more, if someone back at mission control had the guts to stand up and say – “let’s call the whole thing off until peace is restored in Ukraine. This backslapping and awarding is grotesque”.’
The nominations for the BAFTA awards were announced last month with Dune, The Power Of The Dog and Belfast leading with 11, eight and six respectively.
Denis Villeneuve’s star-studded sci-fi epic landed a slew of technical nods, along with a nod for the top prize for Best Film, while Jane Campion’s dark Western and Kenneth Branagh’s Irish biopic follows close behind with eight and six respectively.
Statement: Stephen Graham (left) wore a Ukraine ribbon to show his support for war-torn country Ukraine – however Simon Pegg (right) decided to go without
Dapper: At least Sebastian Stan accessorised the collar of his white shirt with edgy metal silver hoops
It comes after explosions were heard on the outskirts of the western Ukrainian city of Lviv after Russian forces launched an attack on a military base just 12 miles from the Polish border, killing at least nine people and injuring dozens more.
Vladimir Putin’s forces launched a missile strike on the International Center for Peacekeeping and Security, also known as Yavoriv military complex, just before 6am this morning.
Initial reports suggested the base had been targeted by eight missiles, but Maksym Kozytskyi, Governor of the region later confirmed 30 cruise missiles had been fired, killing nine people and injuring 57.
The base has previously been used to host Nato drills and up until recently has housed foreign military instructors, although its unclear if any have been caught up in the strike.