No One Made a Big Enough Deal About Lenny Kravitz's Golden Globes Outfit
Let's revisit Alexander McQueen's Fall/Winter 2023 collection.
Earlier this month, the 81st Golden Globe Awards were broadcast live from Beverly Hills, California and it went how these things usually go—some highlights, some lowlights, and a moment or two of pure cringe.
After the show, viewers were busy entrapping celebrities in lip-reading scandals, having heated debates over vulvas versus vaginas (confirmed: those were vulvas on Gillian Anderson’s dress), and burying comedian Jo Koy alive for his opening monologue. Meanwhile, unproblematic king Lenny Kravitz—who was nominated in the best original song category for his track “Road to Freedom,” stole the entire night in a backless Alexander McQueen jumpsuit, and nobody made a proper fuss about it. Sure, the look got some coverage, especially when actress Emily Blunt wore the same jumpsuit to a Stephen Colbert appearance just a few nights later. But we’re just going to come out and say it—Lenny Kravitz was the best-dressed human at the Golden Globe Awards.
The jumpsuit is from Alexander McQueen’s Autumn/Winter 2023 menswear collection, Anatomy.
“Human anatomy, the anatomy of clothing, the anatomy of flowers. An exploration of beauty and power through tailoring and tailoring fabrics and a focus on cut, proportion, and silhouette,” Creative Director Sarah Burton described in an artistic statement about the collection. “Volume is neat—strict—or exploded. Garments are dissected: slashed, sliced, and twisted. Shoulders are strong. Waists are narrow. Heeled trousers elongate the leg: The Bumster in reverse.”
The “Bumster” was one of the late Alexander McQueen’s most provocative and iconic designs. In a 1996 interview with The Guardian Weekend, the British designer explained its backstory, redirecting focus to the allure of the lower spine.
“[With 'bumsters'] I wanted to elongate the body, not just show the bum. To me, that part of the body—not so much the buttocks, but the bottom of the spine—that’s the most erotic part of anyone’s body, man or woman.”
The “Bumster in reverse” as Sarah Burton describes it, showed up throughout the Autumn/Winter 2023 collection by way of sleek cutouts that showcase the upper back—as seen on the jumpsuit Kravitz wore to the Golden Globes.
Burton also paid homage to the orchid for Fall/Winter 2023, making the flower a recurring motif across looks.
“It thrives in the air, resists being rooted, and grows in the wild. Extraordinarily beautiful and infinitely adaptable, the orchid mimics both predator and prey,” Burton noted. “In the language of flowers, the orchid is a symbol of love.”
The stunning collection rests beautifully in the sunset of Burton’s 26-year career at Alexander McQueen. The British designer, who took over as Creative Director following McQueen’s death in 2010, took her final bow for the fashion house at the Spring/Summer 2024 show, Anatomy II.
Thank you Lenny Kravitz for bringing Anatomy to the Golden Globes. And long live the brilliance of Lee Alexander McQueen. (March 17, 1969 – February 11, 2010.)
Watch the Alexander McQueen Fall/Winter 2023 runway show here.