Ahead of Star Awards 2024, here's a look back at 12 of the wildest looks in the show's history

Star Awards 2024 will be held on Apr 21 with the theme Ignite, Inspire, Impact, Influence. And aside from looking forward to the winners, another thing many of us are excited about is what the stars will be wearing on the red carpet.

Will the queen of Caldecott Zoe Tay come up with yet another show-stopping number that we’ve come to expect of her? Will Elvin Ng continue his legacy of introducing another beverage trend this year? What will Best Actress nominee Chantalle Ng or Best Actor nominee Desmond Tan wear?

We can continue to speculate to high fashion heaven but in the meantime, why not look back on some of wildest looks that have turned up on the Star Awards red carpet through the years?   

CHANTALLE NG (2023)

“Time to slay”, that’s what the My Star Bride actress had to say about this glittering chain mail number last year.  And slay her fashion team did, by way of deconstruction. The Denise Chong Adornments dress needed its own security team just to ensure that everything stayed in place.  

EDWIN GOH (2023)

Say what you will about the crochet vest Edwin wore to the awards but it was an "extra special" night for the actor. “I have never attended any event donning a piece of clothing made by myself. It was honestly the highlight of my night,” the 29-year-old had shared on Instagram.  

Backstage, the self-professed crochet addict was heard telling host Jeremy Chan: “I’m teaching crochet classes now so I wanted to show my students a representation of my work.”

BONNIE LOO (2023)

This Monot cut-out dress made for an excellent case study of dos and don’ts of cut-outs. Do show a healthy flash of skin while at it but don’t pick a dress in the wrong size – too small and it’ll dig into the flesh, flattening body bits and exposing more than you bargained for.   

IRENE ANG (2022)

Maybe it was the purple hue, perhaps it was the tailcoat, but everything about this getup screamed The Joker. Either way, only the endearing Irene can pull it off, with her Astro Boy-esque hairstyle adding a kawaii manga spin to the DC Comics-inspired look. And hey, there's a Joker sequel coming up too.

SHERYL ANG (2022)

Is she supposed to be at the Star Awards or in a hotpot, news outlet AsiaOne had asked. Blame it on the cabbage-colour gown that netizens likened to the vegetable. That said, the Star Search alumni’s sleek hair and perfectly executed makeup saved for her being completely torched. Charred cabbage, anyone? 

ELVIN NG (2021)

Thirsty for Elvin? That rang especially true when the actor put on an ombre pink Alexander McQueen suit that smacks of bandung, a rose syrup drink. Unfazed by the comparison, the actor was more eager to know if fans thought his “bandung” was hot or not. And for the record, we thought it totally worked because real men wear pink!

JAYLEY WOO (2017)

She made it to the Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes that year but all everyone could talk about was her, erm, unconventional dress. Lace, tassels, cutouts, sheer panels, trims, the “more is more” dress was never credited so we’ll never know who did this to Jayley.

FELICIA CHIN (2016)

Yes, we know there’s a mesh bodice under this see-through Paolo Sebastian dress but when nothing is left to the imagination, it stops getting interesting. It's unlike Halle Berry’s semi-sheer Elie Saab gown, which she wore to the Academy Awards when she took home the golden statuette for Best Actress. That now legendary gown found a forever home at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.

LIU LINGLING (2016)

You can take the girl out of getai but you’ll never take getai out of the girl. Lingling stuck to her guns with this elaborate gown that was possibly designed to be seen even from 30,000 feet up in the sky. Totally in her element, the veteran entertainer even matched her pearlescent lips to the green and white gown. Now that’s effort.

FANN WONG (2003)

Way ahead of the fashion curve, Fann did it all before any trend became a trend. She took to post-COVID casual way back in 2003. She wore cropped tops before Y2K was a thing. She wore innerwear as outerwear before Miuccia Prada decreed it fashionable. She wore clashing prints like she didn’t care. And she wore sneakers to an awards ceremony before hip-hop made that mandatory.

PHYLLIS QUEK (1999)

We did a double take when we chanced upon this snap. Who is this actress with a baby afro? If not for her age-defying good looks, we wouldn’t have guessed it was Phyllis Quek. After all, long and sleek is how the former actress has been wearing her hair for the last decade. Also, the red lame, cowl-necked do is a far cry from her beguiling boho personal style she now sports. We like the current Phyllis a lot better, thank you very much. 

CHRISTOPHER LEE (1997)

Before Desmond Tan donned an apron for his role as Derek Ho in Code of Law, there was Christopher Lee who wore an apron to the ceremony. Paired with a crisp white shirt, he looked more waiter material than he did the silver screen A-lister that he is.