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In the midst of a billionaire-directed assault on the U.S. government via a team of Nazi-adjacent youths, the 2025 Oscars red carpet had the potential to be an evening of longed-for distraction. Fashions can and do engage with current events—the current naked dressing trend, for one, seems to be grasping for the bodily autonomy Republican legislators have taken away—but it can also provide an aesthetic and artistic escape.
Unfortunately, this year’s red-carpet fashion skewed traditional and tame, endlessly referencing old-Hollywood looks and classic silhouettes with precious little playfulness to freshen the vibe. With a few exceptions, the getups seemed to be holding space for a movement that believes America’s greatest days are behind it. Maybe no one was in the mood for risk-taking in this moment of sociopolitical gloom? Or the cataclysmic L.A.
fires sapped the city’s appetite for frivolity? Whatever it was, the gorgeous-yet-bloodless gowns missed the opportunity to remind us of a fact that remains true: Creative lights can be a beacon in dark times.
Still, there were trends worth noting. High-necked dresses provided modest coverage for Marissa Bode in liquid-red sequins and Ana de Armas in pearled lace, who looked like a dressed-up doily. Even perpetually exposed Miley Cyrus covered up on Sunday evening in dainty lace gloves and a relatively conservative Alexander McQueen dress. The fringed line at the top of her skirt drew a shape that might have echoed a garter belt, but the overall effect was demure.
Felicity Jones was prim, too, in her own mock-neck dress and waist bow, though her gown had a mesmerizing, sharklike sheen that pushed it into the realm of the modern. Digital-age textiles also showed up on Whoopi Goldberg, whose manspreading collar photographed like pooling liquid mercury, and Ariana Grande, in a Schiaparelli dress with a corset bodice so flawlessly angular, it could have been generated by AI.
Sweet femininity was tied up in a bow on actors like Mikey Madison in a bubblegum Dior train, Elle Fanning in bridal lace, and Lupita Nyong’o in pearls from head to pits.
Dresses bedecked in spangles, tailored in classic silhouettes, and vacuum-sealed to the curves of women’s bodies were all over the red carpet this year. Demi Moore’s gown, in a Magic-Eye fan pattern, draped extra fabric over her hips for an exaggerated waistline. Doja Cat wore a similar plunging neckline in one of the night’s more energizing looks—yet still based on 1950s Balmain!—that dripped sensuality. In a shattered mirror from Christian Siriano, Halle Berry was a walking bad-luck omen, as if we needed one.
Bringing order to chaotic times were the pleasingly lined-up gemstones on Rachel Sennott’s coyly translucent Balenciaga dress; the rose-gold jewels marching in a row on Selena Gomez’s custom Ralph Lauren gown (referencing a Sophia Loren look, natch); and the fish-scale paillettes on Emma Stone’s champagne Louis Vuitton number.
Some of the boldest colors of the evening showed up in men’s suits. Timothée Chalamet was a buttery daffodil in leather pants, hearkening the cheery coming of spring. A head-to-toe chocolate-dipped look suited Andrew Garfield, whose satin blouse and tinted shades lent his wholesome persona a hint of sleaze. Édgar Ramírez wore a velvet jacket in a moody shade of inky purple—close enough to black to look elegant, but just off-kilter enough to stave off solemnity.
Fancy men have been loving their pins lately, and there were too many whimsical brooches on tux lapels to enumerate here. But it’s worth nodding to Adrien Brody (a known brooch boy) in flamboyant diamonds, Sebastian Stan in a delightfully uncommon off-white tuxedo shirt, and Colman Domingo, whose brooch was unfortunately (for the brooch) outshone by his well-tailored flares, meticulous sash, and trademark swagger.
It’s still technically winter, even in Los Angeles, and velvet dresses always offer a taste of old-school awards-show glamour on the red carpet. Margaret Qualley wore sumptuous, backless Chanel—a sleek silhouette livened up by a gestural swath of neckline. Scarlett Johansson wore draped velvet, too, in a 1999 Thierry Mugler number with coordinating gloves straight out of a Hollywood fantasy. In comically voluminous forest green, Cynthia Erivo and her witchy collar may have found themselves on the wrong side of the adage, “don’t let the dress wear you.”
In a lineup of bloodless glitz and straightforward odes to traditional femininity, dresses that put a spin—whether subtle or grand—on classic looks stood out. Among them were Michelle Yeoh, in asymmetrically gathered cerulean satin, and Gal Gadot, in a throwback basque-waist princess gown. And then there was Lisa, of K-pop girl group Blackpink, in a stunning suit by Markgong. Her jacket and shirt extended to the floor, offering both the formality of tuxedo tails and the ease of an open button-down. All that excess crisp white shirt fabric puddling on the floor struck the ultimate pose of casual luxury. It was cheeky, it was sharp-shouldered, and it gave the red carpet a sorely-needed jolt of fun.
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