oscars 2024 red carpet
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Oscars 2024 red carpet: The must-see looks from the Academy Awards

11 Mar 2024 | | By Zoe Gunn

Join us live as we bring you all the action from Hollywood's biggest event of the year

So here we are. The Oscars 2024 – the grand finale of awards season – is upon us. After months of promo work, interviews and premieres, tonight the world’s biggest actors, directors and studios will pitch up to the Hollywood & Highland Center in Los Angeles to find out if their hard work will earn them the big screen’s biggest accolade.

In the UK, you can watch all the action live on ITV from 9.30pm – and the opportunity to see Ryan Gosling, accompanied by 65 fellow Kens, sing and dance their way through Barbie‘s I’m Just Ken is reason enough alone to tune in. As for the gongs themselves? The smart money, given its dominance at the BAFTAs, is on Oppenheimer to take home the night’s ultimate award – Best Picture – with wins also expected for its leading man, Cillian Murphy, and director, Christopher Nolan. Elsewhere, the critics are split on whether Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon) or Emma Stone (Poor Things) will earn Best Actress, while Da’Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers) and Robert Downey Jr (Oppenheimer) are expected to take home nods in the Supporting Actor categories.

But, before we get to the serious business of the awards ceremony, there’s the equally important pageantry of the red carpet to consider. The biggest night for the fashion industry, second only to the Met Gala, expect the stars to be pulling out all the stops in pursuit of a coveted position on tonight’s best dressed lists. One of which I’ll be compiling as the night unfolds below.

Stay tuned as I bring you the best, the worst and the most bizarre (Emma Stone, I’m looking at you) from the Oscars 2024 red carpet.

Margot Robbie in Versace

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Image: Alamy

Margot Robbie isn’t bitter that she was snubbed for a Best Actress nomination. Nope. Not at all. That has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that, given the parade of fantastical fashion that has been the Barbie press tour, she chose possibly the most simple, understated, (whisper it) boring dress she could find for tonight’s ceremony.

 

I’m only partly joking. This is a stark departure from the fabulous, frothy confections she’s leaned into this awards season so it feels like a missed opportunity to see what she could have come up with had her heart been in it. That said, this is elegant and fits her like a glove. The bracelet is a showstopper but from the neck up it all feels a little undone.

Jennifer Lawrence in Dior Haute Couture

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Image: Alamy

This one is going to divide opinions. The A-line silhouette and diamond tennis necklace are classic Hollywood but the polka dot print reads ‘picnic at the country club’. I’m not sure the two marry all that well (and the shawl is completely unnecessary) but the overall effect sets Jennifer Lawrence apart from the glitzy Oscars 2024 red carpet crowd. The makeup is stunning.

Florence Pugh in Del Core

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Image: Alamy

Florence Pugh has a long history of playing with her red carpet fashion so it comes as no surprise that she’s pulled a gown from a brand you’ve probably never heard of. And, while she’s technically in attendance in support of her Oppenheimer co-stars, the sci-fi look also plays well into her promo tour for Dune: Part Two. You have to applaud a multi-tasker. That stunning Bulgari Serpenti necklace is merely icing on the cake.

Da'Vine Joy Randolph

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Adore. Da’Vine Joy Randolph was nominated for (and took home) the Best Supporting Actress award but it is, unfortunately, undeniable that she won’t have had access to the same array of brands and gowns as her competitors – and yet she has consistently pulled out beautiful looks that clearly make her feel a million dollars.

 

She’s favoured simple silhouettes with one large flounce or floral throughout and, as far as I’m concerned, she’s saved the best for last. This Louis Vuitton shape suits her to a tee and the colour is gorgeous. She accessorised the frosty blue confection with glamorous waves, a glossy lip and the Omega Constellation watch. Yes, it’s a little showgirl but, hey, it’s not every day you’re in the running for Hollywood’s highest accolade.

Emma Stone in Louis Vuitton

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Image: Alamy

Given the fantastically whimsical fashion Emma Stone has been pulling out of the bag during the press tour for Poor Things this almost feel a little underwhelming. That said, the Oscars does tend to be the most conservative of the Hollywood awards ceremonies and she looks very inch the film star. Brownie points for the enormous 30.47 carat yellow sapphire.

Cillian Murphy in Versace

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Image: Omega

In the lead up to Murphy’s Best Actor Oscars win, he collected awards at the Golden Globes, Emmys and SAG Awards in impeccably tailored looks. For the biggest night of them all he stepped out in a custom Versace suit with a black silk bow tie and Chelsea boots. While his Oppenheimer-inspired brooch from Sauvereign and pine-green Omega De Ville Prestige watch are great accessories, his award shined brightest.

Emily Blunt in Schiaparelli Couture and John Krasinski

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White is shaping up to be a major trend on the Oscars 2024 red carpet and these two clearly got the memo. Blunt is nominated in the Supporting Actress category for her role in Oppenheimer so, while I absolutely applaud the white tux, she’s the real star here. The fit of the gown is impeccable and she’s even managing to pull off the Wonder Woman detailing. Love the balletcore bun and Tiffany & Co bling.

Billie Eilish in Chanel and America Ferrera in Versace

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At first glance you’d probably never tell these woman are both nominated for the same movie (Barbie – as if you needed reminding) but, to my mind, they’re both making their own spin on life in plastic look fantastic.

 

Ferrera has studiously avoided the Barbie cosplay so far, leaving the fuchsia gowns up to Margot Robbie, but if there was ever a time to pull the pink sparkles out of the wardrobe it would be the Oscars, especially when paired with a stunning ruby and diamond-studded Pomellato necklace.

 

Eilish’s blend of Chanel tweed, Clueless cuteness and slightly butch tailoring really leans into her day-to-day aesthetic. It’s on brand for both her and the film she’s representing. Some seriously savvy styling.

Anya Taylor Joy in Dior Haute Couture

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Attending the awards in a presenter capacity, Anya Taylor Joy’s Dior Haute Couture gown is showy enough to meet Oscars red carpet expectations without pulling focus from the evening’s nominees. You could argue that it looks a little heavy, especially through the skirt, but there’s no disputing the flawlessness of those Tiffany & Co diamonds.

Charlize Theron in Dior Haute Couture

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Image: Dior/Getty Images

Can’t argue with this – she looks incredible. On another wearer that neckline could seem a little overwrought but put a veteran like Charlize Theron in that gown and throw a vaults worth of Boucheron diamonds at her and you’ve got red carpet magic.

Noah Baumbach in Dior and Greta Gerwig in Gucci

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Image: Dior/Getty Images

Have a scroll through this list and you’ll see that there appears to have been no small level of coordination on the part of the Barbie ladies. The simple lines and almost chainmail-like fabrics are an interesting choice given the level of high fashion the Barbie promo machine has been running at but this really works for Gerwig (even if it could have done with  being half an inch shorter), especially when finished with glittering Boucheron jewellery.

 

Despite being a hugely successful director in his own right, Baumbach is, ostensibly, attending in support of Gerwig so it makes sense that he would keep things simple. His Dior tux fits well and is fits the brief for the event. Can’t ask for more than that.

Ryan Gosling in Gucci

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Image: TAG Heuer/Getty Images

He’s just Ken, but on the Oscar’s red carpet he’s definitely a 10. Ryan Gosling might have stolen the show in a bright-pink suit to perform his beloved track, I’m Just Ken, from Barbie, but his custom Gucci suit complete with spangled seams also deserves attention. The finishing touch? A Tag Heuer Carrera Date Plasma Diamant d’Avant-Garde watch studded with a Barbie-approved pink diamond.

Hailee Steinfeld in Elie Saab

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It’s pretty and the colour really suits her. Sure, she looks a little like she’s headed to prom and I could do without the embellished gauntlets, but she’s certainly not destined for any worst dressed lists. A solid effort from Hailee Steinfeld.

Kirsten Dunst in Gucci and Jesse Plemons

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These two have been doing the red carpet circuit (both alone and as a couple) for decades and it shows. They look relaxed, comfortable and classic. Zero complaints here – enjoy date night you two.

Zendaya in Giorgio Armani Privé

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Image: Giorgio Armani/Getty Images

The Dune star and bonafide fashion superstar didn’t disappoint in a Giorgio Armani Privé antique rose silk gown with a single roped strap strung over a corseted bodice embellished with gunmetal paillettes and embroidered with a retro palm tree motif. Continuing the recent trend of skipping the necklace, Zendaya instead wore statement earrings from Bulgari.

Josh Hartnett in Berluti and Tamsin Egerton

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Image: Berluti

Another couple stepping out on the Oscars 2024 red carpet, Oppenheimer star Josh Hartnett was a timeless leading man in a Berluti tux and loafers. Hartnett’s wife, Tamsin Egerton, took an equally classic route in a shimmering strapless gold gown. As they say, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Lupita Nyong'o in Giorgio Armani Privé

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Image: Giorgio Armani/Getty Images

Taking the stage as a presenter in an elegant custom Giorgio Armani Privé gown is always a win in our books. Lupita Nyong’o glittered on the red carpet in a powder blue silk embroidered gown detailed with pale blue feathers and accessorised with glittering De Beers jewels, the questionable return of the peplum waist not-withstanding.

Simu Liu in Fendi

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Image: De Beers

I adore menswear looks that don’t take themselves too seriously. Simu Liu’s black Fendi suit is playfully styled with a very low cut tank top and held together with a De Beers diamond brooch.

 

Issa Rae in Ami

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Image: AMI/Getty Images

Having starred in three Oscar-nominated films in the last year, Issa Rae looks like a natural on the red carpet in a custom Ami gown. The figure-hugging gown featured a sequinned bodice, ruched waist, plunging neckline, and thigh-high split, making for a bold and sensual look.

Michelle Yeoh

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Image: Cindy Chao

Trading in the sparkly Balenciaga gown she wore on the red carpet for a structured couture gown, Michelle Yeoh stunned in all-black at the Vanity Fair Oscars after-party. While I love the exaggerated shoulders and plunging neckline, the Cindy Chao gold feather brooch and statement ring are easy show-stealers.

 

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley in Valentino Couture

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Image: Valentino

While white dominated the Oscars 2024 red carpet, it seems all-black was the theme of the night at the Vanity Fair after party. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley put a sexy spin on it in a Valentino Couture dress fresh from the SS24 collection. The unexpected torso reveal, a sheer trail hanging off the neck, and leather gloves –what’s not to love about this sleek look?

Olivia Munn in Fendi

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Image: Fendi

While simple, Olivia Munn’s cream Fendi gown featuring a stretch-knit corset and trailing georgette skirt is an undeniable classic. She paired it with a glittering silver clutch and a dazzling diamond choker and earrings. After joking about not being able to sit in her metallic gown at the Oscars ceremony, it seems only right that the actress changed into something more comfortable to dance the night away at the after-party.

Barry Keoghan

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Image: Omega

Saltburn star Barry Keoghan is really cementing himself as a force to be reckoned with in fashion-forward menswear – and was recently rewarded with a deal with Burberry for his efforts. It’s not hard to see why. There aren’t a huge array of men who could pair wide-cut trousers with a knitted tank, Chanel-esque tweed jacket and Omega watch and come out looking this cool.

Usher in Valentino

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Image: Valentino

Trust Usher to deliver a high-octane fashion moment. And deliver he did, in a custom Valentino look, pairing a sequinned deep-V neckline shirt with white trousers to truly light up the dance floor.

Read more: Life in plastic - a cultural history of Barbie