Oscars 2026: the red carpet trends

Best actress winner Jessie Buckley’s Chanel floor-skimming baby-pink gown with an off-the-shoulder wrap neckline in contrasting red was inspired by Grace Kelly’s 1956 Oscar’s dress. Buckley’s stylist, Danielle Goldberg, helped the actress build a friendship with Chanel creative director Matthieu Blazy – a man she described to Vogue as “a singular vibrant artist”. Kate Hudson, who was nominated for best actress for her performance in Song Sung Blue chose her pale mint-green Armani Privé gown with a sweetheart neckline and peplum detail on the morning of the ceremony. Chase Infiniti, who stars as Willa in Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another wore a ruffled a lilac gown by Louis Vuitton’s Nicolas Ghesquière. The asymmetric layers of silk, rumoured to have taken over 750 hours to make, draped to one side, creating a dramatic train as she walked the red carpet. The pastel trend was sealed by Felicity Jones’s pale lemon Prada dress and McKenna Grace's pale pink Vera Wang ball gown.

Earthy tones were a recurring theme for men not wanting to stick to the classic black tie look. Kieran Culkin’s rust-hued Paul Smith blazer, and actor and musician Michael Cimino’s dark chocolate double breasted Lardini tux, were a welcome twist on a traditional look. Sinners actor Miles Canton’s deep russet Amiri suit with matching tie was another winner. Felix Kammerer’s double-brown Saint Laurent look was one of the best of the night. Special mention to Zendaya – who skipped the red carpet, making a surprise appearance to present the Best Director award, wearing an asymmetrical chestnut Louis Vuitton gown with a side cut-out and thigh-high leg split. Her stylist, Law Roach, wore a 1997 archive McQueen coat depicting Archangel Michael from Hans Memling’s The Last Judgment.

Best actor winner Michael B Jordan was chic personified in custom Louis Vuitton (who also dressed Sinners director and best original screenplay winner, Ryan Coogler). The clean lines of his nehru collar suit with gold chain detail rounded out a flawless awards season from the actor, styled by Jason Bolden. There was a lot of watch action on this carpet (and awkward arm posing to show off said watches) but MBJ’s Piaget protocole deserves a nod. Paul Mescal arrived in a look by Michael Rider for Celine, that GQ dubbed “a flirty cardigan-esque jacket” paired with a ribbon bow tie. Felicity Kay, his long-term stylist, told Esquire: “It’s elegant, with a little sense of being undone. It feels like Paul, but also distinctly different.” Brazilian actor and star of The Secret Agent, Wagner Moura, completed the hat-trick for the collarless trend with a white Zegna shirt. His look also featured a brooch by Brazilian jeweller André Lasmar, symbolising the branch carried by the dove of peace.

White was one of the big trends of the evening – across both women’s and menswear. Best actress nominee Emma Stone wore a backless beaded Louis Vuitton dress that took 600 hours to make. Pedro Pascal did away with jackets, choosing a white shirt with a huge camellia brooch from Chanel. As expected Timothée Chalamet wore Givenchy by Sarah Burton. Gwyneth Paltrow’s white column Armani Privé dress with naked-look side panels was one of the night’s most daring looks. Paltrow has form with white Oscars dresses: in 1996 she wore a beaded Calvin Klein slip dress, and in 2012 a Tom Ford cape dress. The prize for most original accessory went to Sinners star Jack O’Connell, who wore his Dunhill tuxedo with prosthetic, blood-soaked fangs.

If you’ve been paying attention this awards season you’ll know that brooches have been the go-to red carpet accessory for guys. Heated Rivalry’s Hudson Williams led the Oscars charge with a Bvlgari serpent on his slick black Balenciaga tux. Last year’s best actor winner Adrien Brody opted for a huge statement sparkler from Gucci, while Damson Idris decorated his Prada coat with a marquise blue diamond brooch by his own fine jewellery label – Didris. (He debuted the first piece at the Met Gala last year.) Viral creator Reece Feldman, better known as @guywithamoviecamera wore a Tanner Fletcher white tux decorated with cameo brooches and Hamnet’s Joe Alwyn’s diamond carnation by Chaumet was a clever nod to the film by his stylist Rose Forde – carnations are believed to have been William Shakespeare's favourite flower. The Bard referred to them as “the fairest flowers o’th’ season” in The Winter's Tale. The flower adornment worked in harmony with Alwyn’s floppy Valentino bow-tie.

There is nothing understated or subtle about the showgirl trend – it clearly shouts, “Look at me!” Teyana Taylor, nominated for a best supporting actress in One Battle After Another opted for a Matthieu Blazy Chanel black sequined, sheer bodice that fell into dense featherwork at the hem in a classic cinematic palette. Following the theme, Nicole Kidman’s pale pink gown had more than a nod to old Hollywood glamour. The strapless, column-style dress, again by Chanel, featured a soft band of pale blush feathers that formed a peplum finishing in feather appliqué at the hem. The actress, styled by Jason Bolden, wasn’t the only A-lister embracing the trend: Demi Moore wore Gucci, featuring a plume of long black feathers at the bodice that fused with glossy green feathers cinching at the waist. Mikey Madison’s Dior red velvet strapless dress had Moulin Rogue energy – but the real dazzle of this trend came from Wunmi Mosaku’s money-green sequin number, by Nicolas Ghesquière’s Louis Vuitton.

Jet-black dresses remain, as they always have, as a red carpet fail safe look. However, these offerings boasted immaculate tailoring and painstaking detailing to stand out from other black dresses. Chloé Zhao’s black veiled bell sleeves with a tiered skirt, by Gabriela Hearst, seemed to have had a Marmite effect. Personally, we liked the extreme take: Kirsten Dunst played the classic card with her Celine tiered dress, which was understated and elegant. Odessa A’zion opted for detail with a bohemian black crystal embroidered Valentino jacket and fringed skirt, while Zoe Saldana’s femme fatale lace number, by Saint Laurent’s Anthony Vaccarello, added a 30s film noir touch to the red carpet.

Red carpet dressing often falls into two categories: timeless, elegant codes of the Hollywood Oscars of the 1930s and 40s, sweeping gowns designed to command a staircase entrance; or headline-grabbing personality looks – think Björk’s swan dress and Cher's showgirl number. This season, Anne Hathaway stole the show with a black, strapless Valentino couture gown with floral embellishment and full train worn with opera gloves. Rose Byrne and Ejae, the voice of Rumi in the Netflix animated film K-Pop: Demon Hunters, both chose Dior, each cutting a clean silhouette, there was clearly one trend that that dominated this year’s Academy Awards: the award goes to the strapless dress.