When it comes to the Academy Awards, I always end up paying just as much attention to the red carpet as I do the actual awards. I consider it one of the few remaining stages where fashion is treated with the same seriousness as the art being celebrated inside the Dolby Theatre.
With Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of Vogue, in attendance, the pressure to deliver is even higher. This year’s fashion felt like a mix between safe, classic Hollywood, and a few people trying to push boundaries. Some risks worked, some didn’t, and some really stood out.
Nobody opened the night better than Demi Moore. She arrived first in a custom Gucci gown draped in black and green iridescent feathers with a strapless neckline and a gradient effect that made her look like she was dissolving into something beautiful. She said she wanted to feel like a “work of art,” and I cannot argue with her.
Then came Teyana Taylor, and I think she delivered the most emotionally complete look of the entire night. She wore a semi-sheer Chanel bodice with a giant feather skirt and a Tiffany & Co. necklace carrying over 18 carats of diamonds. The defining detail was something far more intimate: her children’s names, embroidered directly onto the gown. Fashion that carries personal meaning at that scale is rare, and it deserves recognition.
I have long believed that the most powerful red carpet moments are the ones rooted in historical awareness, and Jessie Buckley offered perhaps the finest example of that principle this year. Her off-the-shoulder Chanel gown, pairing lipstick red with peony pink in a deliberate homage to Grace Kelly’s 1956 Oscars appearance, was an intentional act of tribute. Wearing it on the night she accepted Best Actress speaks to a level of thoughtfulness that extends well beyond the wardrobe department.
Emma Stone proved that simplicity can be just as commanding as the most elaborate look on the carpet. Her Louis Vuitton beaded column gown carried 600 hours of intricate beadwork beneath its clean, understated silhouette. I find that the most lasting red carpet moments are often the ones that reveal themselves slowly, and Stone’s look rewarded every second of attention it received.
Pedro Pascal set the tone with a crisp white Chanel ensemble by Matthieu Blazy, ditching the blazer and tie entirely in favor of a tucked-in white shirt anchored by an oversized bloom brooch. It was precise, confident, and completely free of the self-consciousness that tends to undermine men’s fashion on evenings like this. I would argue that men’s fashion on the red carpet is held to a far lower standard than women’s and that needs to change. The bar is simply not high enough, and when someone like Pascal clears it with intention, it stands out precisely because so few bother to try.
Ludwig Göransson, who took home his third Oscar that evening, opted for a rich burgundy Zegna suit complemented by Boucheron jewelry. This outfit was executed with the kind of precision that makes the look feel inevitable rather than calculated. The brooch trend among men was one of the defining details of the night, and Göransson wore it better than most.
Michael B. Jordan, celebrating his Best Actor win for Sinners, arrived in Louis Vuitton and opted for a button-up Nehru jacket in place of a conventional tuxedo. For a man receiving the night’s highest individual honor, the look matched the moment entirely.
The 2026 Oscars red carpet confirmed something I return to every year: fashion, treated seriously, is its own form of authorship. The looks that endure are never merely beautiful. They are considered, purposeful, and at their best, they have something to say. Designers, stylists, and the celebrities themselves should treat the red carpet with the same level of craft and intention that goes into the films being honored. This year, the carpet gave us plenty worth listening to.
