Stars deliver modern and colorful looks on Oscars red carpet

For cinema’s biggest night, some stars marked their moment with designs that evoked old Hollywood glamour.

Rose Byrne arrived in a timeless custom black Dior gown embroidered with colorful beaded flowers. Actor Wunmi Mosaku of “Sinners” showcased classic elegance in a off-the-shoulder teal sequined Louis Vuitton dress while also showing off her baby bump.

Inspired by Grace Kelly's 1956 Oscar's dress, Jessie Buckley wore a color-blocked Chanel dress with a light pink skirt and lipstick-red shawl over her shoulders.

“This was a much more colorful carpet than past events throughout the awards season,” Halie LeSavage, Marie Claire’s senior fashion news editor, said. ”It feels like the nominees and the presenters are loosening up and really getting into a celebratory mood for the last big show of the season.”

In keeping with their colorful animated film, the cast of “KPop Demon Hunters” delivered a splash of eye-catching colors to the red carpet in their regal gowns. Arden Cho chose Korean designer Miss Sohee with a structured black lace mermaid gown and an opulent vibrant green silk stole designed with an intricate nature scene. Co-star Ji-young Yoo posed in a two-toned blue Carolina Herrera ball gown with a romantic sweetheart-shaped neckline.

Cloud Dancers

Balanced among all the colorful attire, the Pantone color of the year, Cloud Dancer, once again had its moment. Actors in off-white gowns glistened in front of the cream backdrop of the carpet. Emma Stone sparkled in her simple yet captivating opalescent paillette dress with its low back and scoop neckline.

Elle Fanning added a romantic touch to the carpet in her white Givenchy by Sarah Burton dramatic ball gown adorned with wisteria flowers. Fanning accented her scene-stealing dress with a Cartier wisteria-shaped necklace from 1903.

Like Fanning, ELLE’s Beauty Director, Kathleen Hou said the red carpet stars sported polished and slicked back updos to draw the attention to their gowns.

Gwyneth Paltrow kept it minimalist and sexy with her Giorgio Armani Privé ivory silk strapless gown that revealed one long cut out down the sides of her dress.

Red carpet risk-taker Timothée Chalamet stayed on trend in an off-white Givenchy by Sarah Burton suit with matching white shirt, tie and shoes. He accessorized his looks with rings and sunglasses. Chalamet famously wore a butter yellow suit by the same designer last year.

“For his whole Oscars campaign, Timothée has really used fashion to tell a story, to promote his role in ‘Marty Supreme’,” Hine said. “All white suggests he’s at the end of the tour.”

Stars take flight with feathers

Gowns on the carpet featured luxurious fabrics, textures and even feathers. Demi Moore emerged on the carpet in a whimsical, fully feathered, green-toned Gucci dress. Moore, who was not nominated for an Oscar, certainly stole the spotlight from her peers with her dramatic gown.

Actor Pedro Pascal integrated feathers in a more subtle way with a large, feathered brooch fastened to his custom Chanel look by Matthieu Blazy.

The latest designer to helm the French house has been the talk of the town with fashionistas lining up at Chanel stores to buy his collection.

Fashion trailblazer Teyana Taylor wore a fitted feathered white and black sheer dress on the carpet by Blazy.

“Teyana’s dress is also my front-runner for best dressed of the night because it took a lot of those Chanel codes that fashion fans really love and made them feel so fresh and so Teyana,” LeSavage said. “They’re a house that doesn’t do a lot of bodycon or sheer. It tapped into a whole bunch of different elements that felt very glamorous and very Oscars but also aligned with all of the risks that Teyana has been taking throughout her awards season run this year.”

In another take on feathers by Blazy, Nicole Kidman wore an off-white feathered gown with a corseted peplum bodice that was dipped into a cream color at the hem.

Men follow suit with tailoring

While the women flaunted vivid colors on the carpet, the men subverted traditional codes of black-tie attire with their suiting. Oscar night performer Shaboozey rarely disappoints on the carpet with his modern takes on black tie attire. The red-carpet style maven sported a Balenciaga tailcoat look with a vest and a pearl pocket chain and matching pearl earrings.

“Sinners” star Michael B Jordan brought out a golden pocket chain that accentuated his Louis Vuitton suit. His costar Miles Caton was one of the few male actors to add color to the carpet. Caton walked the carpet in an all-plum colored look from AMIRI with a matching plum jacket, tie and trousers.

“What we have been seeing in recent years is men embracing designer fashion spins on the traditional tuxedo, especially younger actors,” Samuel Hine, GQ’s global fashion correspondent said. “Their participation in the fashion world is an important part of the promotion of their personal brands.”

“Sinners” director Ryan Coogler and actor Jacob Elordi were some of the few Oscar attendees that donned the traditional black tie look of a bow tie.

Fashion made political

Oscar attendees sometimes make more than fashion statements. Actors chose to make political statements on the carpet by calling for a ceasefire in Gaza with their ‘Artists4Ceasefire’ pins. The organization issued new pins with a design by Shepard Fairey that now feature a dove and a lotus flower wrapped with a barbed wire. Actor Charithra Chandran added the pin on the carpet to her lush, bright-green ball gown.

Saja Kilani of “The Voice of Hind Rajab” wore the pin with her chic black dress on the carpet.

“Our struggles are all connected, so is our liberation,” she told The Associated Press.

After the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, Javier Bardem said he wore a pin to protest the war. On Sunday he re-wore the pin, which read, “No a la Guerra” or “No to war” on the carpet. Onstage while presenting, Bardem spoke out against the current global turmoil, saying, “No to war and free Palestine.”

For more coverage of the 2026 Oscars, visit https://apnews.com/hub/academy-awards.