Anna Sawai Is WWD’s Style Awards Fashion Newcomer to Watch on the Red Carpet

Anna Sawai, the winner of WWD’s inaugural Fashion Newcomer style award, knows the power of a red carpet — and red dress — statement. Last year, the “Shogun” star chose to wear a custom look by Vera Wang for her history-making win at the 2024 Emmy Awards. The actress was the first actress of Asian descent to win the award for best leading actress in a drama series, and the first Japanese actress to ever win an Emmy.

“It was very meaningful to me to be able to wear Vera’s dress at my first Emmys, that also could have been — and ended up somehow becoming — a historical moment,” says Sawai, reflecting on the evening a few months after the ceremony.

Now a few weeks before the Golden Globe awards, the actress, 32, is getting ready to fly to Japan from Australia, where she’s spent half the year filming the second season of Godzilla series “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” for Apple TV+. She’ll return to set after a short break for the holidays and a trip to LA for the WWD Style Awards and Golden Globes, where she’s nominated for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Series — Drama.

Sawai and her stylist Karla Welch are still finalizing her red carpet look for the occasion. The pair began working together two years ago for the Critics Choice awards, when Sawai was nominated for best supporting actress for her role in Apple TV+ series “Pachinko.” Sawai, who pivoted to acting after getting her start in a J-pop musical group, credits Welch with helping her hone her red carpet style, starting with that first look, an Acne semi-sheer tan pannier gown.

“At that time, I don’t think I really understood what I looked good in,” Sawai says. “As we started to work together more, I feel like now I know what I look good in and what I feel comfortable in. Karla also knows how I feel when I’m wearing certain things. And it’s so easy now, because everything that I try on is great,” she says, adding that familiarity has allowed her to take bigger fashion risks. “I’m also now able to experiment a little bit more,” she adds. “I’m happy to challenge myself if I know that I’m going to feel good in it.”

Sawai is drawn to structured styles that define and highlight her petite frame. “Because I’m so small, I think there needs to be some sort of shape to have people pay attention to me,” she says, adding that she also appreciates having a juxtaposition in silhouette proportions — balancing a fitted bodice with a flow-y or more volumunious skirt.

She kicked off her “Shogun” red carpet tour in early 2024 wearing a Prada column gown with a low back and allover grommet detailing for the show’s premiere. “I didn’t want it to feel too classic, and it felt like there was enough edge to show the strength that the character also has,” Sawai says. 

Although Sawai didn’t want to pay literal homage to her character for the “Shogun” press tour — the historical drama is set in 1500s Feudal Japan — she did want to channel the character’s strength and color story of her costumes in the show.

“I think that with costumes, it really shapes you into the character so much because you hold yourself differently. It’s also telling your character’s journey,” Sawai says. “It’s always nice to have those conversations with the costume designers. It’s a collaboration there as well. It’s not just, ‘oh, try this — OK, you look good in it. Let’s just put you in that.’ And so I loved working with Carlos [Rosario] who did all the designs for Mariko and all the characters in ‘Shogun.’”

Sawai used the platform of her first Emmy Award nomination to pay tribute to the resilience of Asian women — from her character Mariko to her own mother, who she brought as her Emmys date. “Karla early on during the year was like, so if you do get nominated, is there anyone you want to wear? The first name, and the only name I said, was Vera Wang,” Sawai says. “And she was like, okay, let me text her,” she continues. “And then later that day, she was like, yeah — [Vera’s] going to try to design something for you.”

Wang designed a custom strapless red silk faille gown for Sawai. The look features a fitted bodice with architectural neckline, and flounced drop waist that extends into a flared skirt.

“For the color, I remember my publicist asked me, well, what color did you imagine yourself as a kid wearing at a red carpet? And it was red. I’ve always loved red,” Sawai says. “I thought that red was important, because red is Mariko’s character,” she adds. “We start off [in the show] with her covered in white colors, and then slowly she starts to bloom, and that’s when she starts to find her voice.” 

After the Emmys ceremony, Sawai celebrated her historical win in a custom Louis Vuitton after party look, a red silk faille gown with tank bodice and gathered column skirt. “The shape to me embodied a trophy. And so I thought it was perfect for the after party,” Sawai says.

For accessories, she paired her Vera Wang gown with a pair of Cartier drop earrings. Last fall, Sawai was named a Cartier ambassador, a brand that already carried personal significance. After wrapping “Shogun,” Sawai gifted her mother a Cartier love ring.

“Whenever you buy jewelry, it’s never just like, oh, I’ll just buy a piece. There’s meaning to it. And there’s that memory and there’s that person that you’re thinking about,” she says. “So being able to partner with [the brand] is very special because when I think of Cartier it’s like, oh — the ring that I bought my mom.”

Sawai appreciates the range of Cartier’s designs, from the very glamorous show-stopping jewels to the everyday pieces that can elevate an otherwise casual outfit. “Effortless is my thing. I like it when I don’t look like I’m trying too hard,” she says. “When I’m wearing a white T-shirt, if I have a Cartier ring I just feel like I’m fine — I’m still kind of put together,” she adds, showing off the gold ring adorning one of her fingers in that moment.

Off the carpet, Sawai is drawn to casual comfort that brings ease to her busy lifestyle onset. “When you’re at work, you’re not really thinking about being fashionable,” she says. “You’re just trying to get there at 4 a.m.”