STYLE EVOLUTION

From Tiny Furniture to Girls, Lena Dunham Has Always Been Game to Experiment on the Red Carpet


The 30-year-old auteur and actress behind Girls, Lena Dunham created a cultural juggernaut with the premiere of her series in 2012 — perhaps even, as Dunham’s Hannah Horvath said, “the voice of a generation.” And throughout it all, as the show brought both critical acclaim and intense scrutiny to its creator, Dunham herself has proven she’s not one to take herself too seriously, especially when it comes to fashion. Befriending designers like Giambattista Valli and Jenna Lyons, she’s blended quirky, brightly colored ensembles with equally bold beauty, her hair transforming as much as her look from event to event. She favors bold patterns and dramatic silhouettes, pulling off even difficult looks like a vintage Todd Oldham originally modeled by Naomi Campbell with the cock of a hip and a coy smile. As her series comes to a close tomorrow night, a look back at her best, most irreverent looks from Tiny Furniture to today.

1

Dunham wore a black feathered capelet for her first Gotham Awards, where Tiny Furniture was nominated, in New York, November 2010.

2

She wore a mustard slip with black accents for the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards in Century City, California, January 2011.

3

In one of her most classically formal looks to date, Dunham wore a strapless black gown with silver detailing and a sweetheart neckline for the premiere of Girls with the Cinema Society in New York, New York, April 2012.

4

She selected a forest-green Wes Gordon look for the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala for Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations in New York, New York, May 2012.

5

For that year’s Emmy Awards, it was a midnight lace Prada gown with short sleeves, a more staid and elegant look than others, in Los Angeles, California, September 2012.

6

Dunham continued to take on the fashion world in a Valentino jumpsuit, getting ahead of the formal jumpsuit trend, at the premiere of Girls season two in New York, New York, January 2013.

7

In eggplant silk Zac Posen, Dunham’s smoky eye was the centerpiece of the look at the Golden Globe awards in Beverly Hills, California, January 2013.

8

Dunham embraced her inner punk in Erdem for the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala for Punk: Chaos to Couture in New York, New York, May 2013.

9

Once again in Prada, Dunham’s strikingly exaggerated silhouette only competes with the boldness of the print adorning the dress. Here, she appears at the Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, California, September 2013.

10

Dunham returns to Zac Posen in a lemon-yellow mermaid gown for the Golden Globe awards in Beverly Hills, California, January 2014.

11

Dunham accompanied designer Giambattista Valli to the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala for Charles James: Beyond Fashion — and naturally, she wore a Valli design, in New York, New York, May 2014.

12

In one of her more outlandish looks to date, another Giambattista Valli look complete with a platinum-blonde bob, Dunham reminded us she’s not taking herself too seriously at the Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, California, September 2014.

13

Then, costar Andrew Rannells on her arm, Dunham arrived wearing Zac Posen at the Golden Globe awards in Beverly Hills, California, January 2015.

14

Dunham selected a look from cult-favorite designer Simone Rocha — a bouclé green coat with a floral silk dress, paired with black boots — for the Hollywood Reporter’s 35 Most Powerful People in New York Media event in New York, New York, April 2016.

15

Dunham twinned (or tripleted?) with friends Jenna Lyons, the designer formerly behind J. Crew, and Jenni Konner, all wearing Lyons’s trademark heavy black frames, for the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala for Manus x Machina in New York, New York, May 2016.

16

Dunham wore a crisp white Gabriela Hearst dress to speak alongside America Ferrera at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 2016.

17

Dunham paired an already statement-y vintage Todd Oldham look with dark magenta-rimmed eyes for the premiere of the final season of Girls in New York, New York, February 2017.