The red carpet at the Academy Awards is the most-watched runway in the world, but don’t underestimate Oscar’s younger, funkier, tipsier little sister, the Golden Globes, which airs Jan. 11 at 8 p.m. on CTV.

“The Golden Globes carpet gives the public, it gives the critics, and it gives the fashion houses an idea of how you are going to be presenting yourself on the awards circuit for the entire season,” says Brad Goreski, the celebrity stylist and reality star seen on The Rachel Zoe Project and It’s a Brad, Brad World. “It can really make or break the rest of the awards shows.”

This year, the Port Perry, Ont., native, 36, will have a new perspective on the awards season style gauntlet. Last month it was announced he would be joining Fashion Police, beginning Jan. 12 on E!, as the popular celebrity style panel reboots, with comedian Kathy Griffin stepping in for the late Joan Rivers.

Along with high-glam awards front-runners such as Julianne Moore and Reese Witherspoon, Goreski is anticipating style history will be made by young fashion darlings such as Keira Knightley, Emma Stone and Felicity Jones. “I’m looking for them to bring the fashion-forward looks that change the way we look at red-carpet dressing,” he says.

Yet it’s the perennially en pointe Jennifer Aniston, who is nominated for best actress for her role as a woman struggling with chronic pain in Cake, who is his number one star to watch. He predicts Aniston will shake up her signature west-coast style. “I don’t usually love it when people get locked in a look but it works so well for her,” Goreski admits. “It seems so in her DNA that this is who she is and how she likes to dress. But she’s at that moment where she’s ready to have people go, I’ve never thought of her in that way before.”

As this is Fashion Police, Goreski is also not-so-secretly rooting for some red-carpet mavericks. “I love the fashion dos as much as the fashion don’ts,” he says. “They are great conversation pieces. If you ask my dad about a dress from the red carpet, he’s probably going to bring up Björk’s swan dress, or Cher, or Demi Moore in the bike shorts with the bustle. People know what those dresses are. They can get you into the canon of most memorable moments on the carpet.”

His advice for stars trying to strike that balance between boring and bonkers? “You really have to not care,” he says. He recalls styling Parks and Recreation star Rashida Jones for last year’s Golden Globes in a sleeveless tan Fausto Puglisi gown with oversized metallic gold and silver palm trees embroidered on the skirt. Jones and Goreski both loved the look but knew the critics could hurl their most withering palm puns. In the end, the look won raves.

“It really helps when you have a client who likes to take those risks for fun and for free,” Goreski says. “I can have a client try on a gown and tell her, ‘Oh my god, this is so cool, the colour’s great, I love the shape. But you are going to be on the worst dressed list — just so you know.’ ”

Glam Squad Confessions

Vancouver hairstylist Harry Josh and St. Thomas, Ont., makeup artist Kayleen McAdams share their standout moments from the awards season circuit.

Harry Josh, celebrity hairstylist

Golden rule: KISS (Keep It Simple, Superstar)

“There’s always a bundle of safety things,” says Josh, rattling off poker-straight locks, high ponies and asymmetrical buns as standard red-carpet moves. But safe doesn’t have to be boring. Josh’s goal is to create a “2.0 version” of his client for the carpet, such as the simple part he gave Gwyneth Paltrow for the 2011 Oscars. “I thought it wouldn’t be enough,” Josh recalls, noting Paltrow is easy-breezy about her hair even on Oscar night. But when the actress arrived in a metallic silver Calvin Klein sheath dress, her look was effortlessly stunning. “She looked so modern and chic,” he says. “It was such a beautiful moment to see that simplicity can work.”

Kayleen McAdams, celebrity makeup artist

Golden rule: Colour Me Happy

Makeup artist Kayleen McAdams has created awards season looks for Sophia Vergara, Lily Collins and her own sister, Rachel McAdams, but recalls Mandy Moore’s lip at the 2011 Oscars as a standout moment. The singer paired a shimmering nude Monique Lhuiller gown with a bright tangerine lip. “It really stood out,” McAdams says. This year, she predicts Marsala, the deep, rich brownish red that colour authorities Pantone have called 2015’s colour of the year, will have an impact on award season’s red-carpet beauty looks. “It’s a colour that works on a lot of different people,” she says. “I feel like we are going to see that kind of lip. Earthy wine-red colours.”