Red Carpets
Top 5 Looks From the 2026 Oscars
Felix Shentaler
The 100th anniversary of the Oscars is starting to creep onto the horizon, and with just a few short years until this centennial celebration, designers are feeling the urge to step up their creativity, not to mention the pressure from this year's Met Gala theme looming overhead. The 98th Oscars red carpet served us structural masterpieces. There are so many looks we just can’t get out of our heads. Here are the top 5 looks from the 98th Academy Awards Red Carpet that we can’t stop thinking about.
5. Ava DuVernay
Ava DuVernay wore a custom Louis Vuitton gown by Nicolas Ghesquière, and accessorized with Pomellato’s Indigolite Blue High Jewelry Necklace and matching earrings. This beautiful navy blue dress has a stunning top resembling a bow. It’s structured with a horsehair braid hem to help the fabric retain a structured and voluminous shape. The simple column silhouette of the skirt contrasts with the bold bodice for a dramatic yet elegant look. Paired with the simple jewelry and clutch, the emphasis is all on the top, and we wouldn’t have it any other way– DuVernay looks beautifully gift-wrapped.
4. Chloé Zhao
Chloé Zhao in a Gabriela Hearst gown and matching veil. The iridescent black dress is coated in silver metal leaf, with a silk georgette fabric in spiral ruffles as a godet. The design was created to represent the crow, death, and the reflection that one encounters in the face of death. “A crow’s secret gift is to show us ourselves,” was the tagline for the design, and the metallic fabric was the perfect choice to do just that. This dark, elegant look reflects Zhao’s embrace of the macabre and acceptance of endings. Not a typical theme for a red carpet look, but a bold choice that stands out against the celebration in a way that makes you reflect on the permanence of everything, especially as The Academy’s 100th anniversary draws near.
2.Demi Moore
Demi Moore walked the red carpet and presented in a custom Gucci gown covered top to bottom in feathers, paired with Boucheron jewelry. The dark skirt and dramatic feather neckline draw attention to the beautiful emerald feathers at her waist and demand attention in every direction. This is the first year that Gucci’s newest creative director, Demna, has designed for the Oscars under the Gucci label, ushering in a new era for Demna and Gucci and doing it with flair.
1. Li Jun Li
Li Jun Li wore a gown by Indian couturier Gaurav Gupta. His SS26 collection, ‘The Divine Androgyne’, featured this gown on the Paris Couture runway, and it looked just as stunning on the red carpet. Paired with Fope jewelry and Jimmy Choo shoes, Li Jun Li might as well have been the red carpet. The intricately moulded and structured corset was the grand finale piece in Gupta’s collection, and it was the showstopper at the 98th Academy Awards.
