69th EE British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA)2016

The 69th EE British Academy Film Awards is taking place at the Royal Opera House in London's Covent Garden

Despite the freezing weather, the stars shrugged off their winter coats and revealed a carousel of eye-catching looks

Model Dree Hemingway and Brooklyn star Saoirse Ronan both looked like they'd modified curtains for the event

Poppy Jamie's green flocked Jitrois Paris dress was among the outfits turning London into a fashion crime scene

Cate Blanchett and Laura Haddock both opted for 'yeti skirts' featuring black feather and hair skirts to their dresses

Britain's favourite wit, Stephen Fry, hosts the ceremony - which precedes the Oscars by two weeks - for fifth time

Hollywood decamped to London's freezing Bow Street this evening as the acting fraternity put on their glad rags and made their way down the red carpet for the 69th BAFTAS ceremony.

All eyes were on some of the world's biggest film stars - Cate Blanchett, Kate Winslet and Alicia Vikander among them - as they posed up for the paparazzi ahead of the EE British Academy Film Awards at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden.

There were, however, some spectacular sartorial fails in the style stakes with Bel Powley, Laura Haddock and Rebel Wilson all falling short.

Perhaps it was the wintry weather but there were definitely some more macabre outfits on display.  

Eighties star Stephanie Powers, 73, led the way, looking like she could take off at any moment in a gothic-looking blue fishtail dress, topped off with shoulders covered with a flurry of black feathers.

Fashion writer Simon Glazin was aghast at Power's choice, saying: 'Whoever told Stephanie that the dead raven around her neck was a good idea should be fired. The dress is age appropriate - sheer panel and all - but the feathers just don't go.'

Bel Powley at least cheered up proceedings in her rainbow-coloured outfit by Gucci. The London-based Diary Of A Teenage Girl star, 23, went for a disco design that was in sharp contrast to the intense looks sported by many.

Stylist Glazin felt that Powley's choice was a tad too gay pride for the sophisticated ceremony though. He told FEMAIL: 'I'm all for dressing in the gay flag, but maybe leave that up to the brilliant drag queens of Soho. Not the BAFTA red carpet!'

There was more colour overload - this time clashing with the red carpet - from US Fashion model 

Dree Hemingway. The 28-year-old great, great grandaughter of novelist Ernest floated along in a red lace number adorned with embroidered flowers. The Gucci look was modest in design, covering her from her neck to her toes and even her arms...but anything but modest when it came to the brightness control.

Laura Haddock and Cate Blanchett continued the black feather theme worn by Powers, with both actresses opting for 'yeti skirts' on their dresses.

Haddock, 30, went for a total black-out with every part of her outfit - bar a slick of red lipstick and a simple pair of diamond earrings - dedicated to the darkest colour. Even her toenails, visible in a pair of weather-defying black sandals were painted in a charcoal hue.

Blanchett's outfit divided opinion as the 46-year-old posed wearing a fitted floral Alexander McQueen dress that was highly intricate on top and evolved into a 'yeti skirt' that swept along the floor of the BAFTA red carpet.

Blanchett's Carol co-star Rooney Mara cut a severe figure despite her floaty beige dress which carried a hexagonal design. The US actress wore her hair scraped back from her face with a shiny metallic headband holding it all in place...and certainly didn't crack a smile for the cameras.

MTV star Poppy Jamie steered away from the gothic theme that seemed to dominate the red carpet, plumping instead for a nude fishtail dress by Jitrois Paris covered in an emerald green flock design.

Rebel Wilson's knee length pencil skirt also wasn't a fashion hit, with the back of her dress continuing to the floor while the front cut off abruptly. 

The 35-year-old Australian looked more like she was ready for a day in the city then a night of untold glamour.

At the other end of the suit spectrum was heralded costume designer Sandy Powell, who set the red carpet on fire - or not - in a shiny aqua suit with matching pin-stripe suit and floral tie. 

The look - which tipped a hat to both David Bowie and Annie Lennox - was finished with a shock of dyed bright orange hair

Game of Thrones star Gwendoline Christie, 37, went for a look that might not have looked out of place in Star Trek rather than her current movie Star Wars, with an unusual block colour plum dress that featured gold stripes down the side and was hemmed in at the waist by a gold band.

The Danish Girl star Alicia Vikander, up for a brace of awards, who donned an ankle-length black leather Louis Vuitton sleeveless dress with an encrusted chain mail design that perhaps went a step too far in the direction of S&M.

Insult to injury, Swedish Vikander's leather ensemble appeared to have a silver tinsel-like material at the dress's end.

Brooklyn star Saoirse Ronan told BAFTA's official presenter Zoe Ball that she was 'freezing' in her flowered Burberry gown which exposed her shoulders. The questionable dress was teamed with a very colourful three-tier necklace.

There wasn't much old-style glamour to be seen but model Laura Bailey, 43, seemed happy to be rocking a Gone With The Wind theme. 

Ms Bailey donned a wide-skirted navy dress in cascading chiffon. Despite the enormity of the dress, there was also plenty of gym-honed physique on display in this off the shoulder number...and a smiling Laura even carried her own personalised sequinned clutch bag.

‘The British Oscars’, hosted once again by Stephen Fry, his fifth appearance, will broadcast on BBC1 at 9pm, two hours after the actual event.

Those taking riskier choices in the fashion stakes might wish they'd played it safe, for the ceremony is televised in more than 200 countries, with well over a billion viewers worldwide.

Some of Hollywood's biggest names will be taking their places in Covent Garden this evening with Idris Elba - in line for a Best Actor award for his role in Netflix movie Beasts of No Nation - sharing the red carpet with fellow Brits Eddie Redmayne, Dame Maggie Smith and Kate Winslet, all of whom are in line to scoop the academy's top awards.

With the Oscar ceremony two weeks away, the BAFTAs have long been a barometer of what's likely to win big when the gold statuettes are handed out in LA on February 28th. 

Global stars appearing in London this evening include Christian Bale, Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, Leonardo DiCaprio and Alicia Vikander.

Bookies favourites when it comes to the Academy judges include a closely fought battle between Boston sexual abuse biographical drama Spotlight, epic Western The Revenant and comedy-drama The Big Short.