Oscars night marked the culmination of months of campaigning for statuettes and red-carpet fashion moments, culminating in dazzling style on Sunday night for the 97th Academy Awards. As the final shindig of awards season, the ceremony took place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, with A-listers, including Adrien Brody, Demi Moore and Ariana Grande gathering for a night of cinematic celebration.
Dresses that held space and interesting silhouettes dominated the red carpet this year, alongside sculptural styles and Old Hollywood elegance.
Grande led the charge, early to the carpet in a fresh-off-the-runway Schiaparelli SS25 couture dress. She embraced method dressing with her award show and press tour looks for Wicked. The character-inspired dressing has spanned a year, even embracing the signature shades of Glinda’s pink at the 2024 Oscars. This year was no different, with a modern Glinda-inspired look in a blush pink architectural dress with oversized peplum.
Her Wicked costar, Cynthia Erivo, also paid homage to her Elphaba character, wearing a striking forest green velvet gown by Louis Vuitton. The avant-garde gown featured a dramatic collar, sculpted shoulders, and a voluminous skirt.
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Meg Ryan, Scarlett Johansson and Isabella Rossellini, who all opted for sumptuous velvet gowns, played with the texture in simpler silhouettes.
Best Actress Nominee Zoë Saldaña continued her Saint Laurent streak with a triple-layered, deep red balloon dress with a beaded bodice. Saint Laurent’s latest venture, Saint Laurent Productions, produced and provided the costumes for Emilia Pérez, the film for which Saldaña received a nomination, so it was a given that she would don a design by the French fashion house.
But it wasn’t all big dress energy; refined, classic glamour came from Felicity Jones’s silver column cut-out dress by Armani Privè and Margaret Qualley’s black backless Chanel dress. Elle Fanning went for Old Hollywood with a white lace belted dress, a sweetheart neckline by Givenchy, and new creative director Sarah Burton. Lupita Nyong’o also got the white belted dress memo with a gown that featured a sparkling sequin corset by Chanel. Selena Gomez nodded to the glittering Golden Era Hollywood glamour in a pink ombre off-the-shoulder dress by Ralph Lauren that Sophia Loren inspired. Emma Stone channelled 1920s glamour, sleeking her pixie cut and adopting a silver scoop-neck chainmail dress by Louis Vuitton. A red carpet stalwart, it wouldn’t be an Oscars red carpet without some black gowns; adding a touch of flair with the addition of a feather peplum was Brazilian actress Fernanda Torres. Miley Cyrus and Lily-Rose Depp also opted for black but gave it a refreshing and modern contrast with a sheer skirt.
Elsewhere on the Oscars red carpet, not all that glittered was gold, as a dazzling array of shimmery dresses in various hues took over the red carpet. The Substance director, Coralie Fargeat, wore a black sequin gown, while Vic Carmen Sonne wore an orange asymmetric neckline sequin dress, and Marissa Bode went for scarlet sequins.
Demi Moore subtly referenced her role in The Substance in her Oscar race with her red carpet choices, weaving elements of the film’s themes into her dresses. Moore’s Critics’ Choice dress featured a lace-up back reminiscent of the film’s stitches scene, while sculptural silhouetted gowns and corseted styles played into its exploration of body transformation. She adopted glittering silver sequins by Armani Privé for her Oscar look, with hip-enhancing detail giving a twist to a more classic-silhouetted dress.
Halle Berry also opted for silver, with a mirrored crystal strapless gown by Christian Siriano.
Colour punctuated the sea of glittering and black gowns with selective bold pops of vibrant hues. Michelle Yeoh went for cobalt blue; singer Raye wore a red off-the-shoulder corseted gown by Vivienne Westwood and Coco Gauff in yellow embellished Miu Miu.
Blush pink, one of the season’s standout shades, made a double appearance with two nominees embracing the soft, sweet shade with contrasting bodices – Mikey Madison and Monica Barbaro. First-time Oscar nominee Madison has been the darling of awards season, impressively turning out custom look after custom look from named designers such as Prada, Bottega and Louis Vuitton and throwing in a look from Irish designer Simone Rocha along the way. With a red-carpet style that leans on minimalist, sleek silhouettes, her Oscar Christian Dior dress featured the signature strapless silhouette she has favoured, keeping it classic and elegant.
Meanwhile, Timothée Chalamet maintained his eccentric red carpet run in butter yellow leather from Givenchy, an ensemble that prompted the New York Times to designate him ‘Most Kerrygold’. Jeremy Strong opted for a satin-lapel khaki suit with a tucked-in tie by Loro Piana. Colman Domingo went for mixed tailoring with a scarlet red shirt, blazer combo, and tailored black trousers. Adrien Brody kept it classic with a choice of black tux but added a flourish with an embellished brooch. Boutonnières and brooches were a key embellishment for men attendees, with Sebastian Stan, Omar Apollo, Joe Alwyn, and Jeff Goldblum adding the finishing touches.
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