The 48 Best Oscars Looks Of All Time

Ariana Grande in Schiaparelli Couture and De Beers Jewellery
Zoe Saldaña in Custom Saint Laurent and Cartier High Jewellery
Margaret Qualley in Chanel
Selena Gomez in Ralph Lauren and Bvlgari High Jewellery
Elle Fanning in Sarah Burton For Givenchy and Cartier Jewellery
Quannah Chasinghorse in Red Berry Woman
Jennifer Lawrence in Dior
Danai Gurira in Jason Wu and Messika
Jessie Buckley in Rodarte
Zendaya in Custom Valentino
Janelle Monáe in Ralph Lauren
Gemma Chan in Valentino
Saoirse Ronan in Calvin Klein
Margot Robbie in Chanel
Ruth Negga in Valentino
Zendaya, Vivienne Westwood
Cate Blanchett in Armani Privé
Lupita Nyong’o in Prada
Jennifer Lawrence in Christian Dior
Anne Hathaway in Valentino
Diane Kruger in Chanel
Sarah Jessica Parker in Chanel
Marion Cotillard in Jean Paul Gaultier
Penélope Cruz in Atelier Versace
Gwyneth Paltrow in Zac Posen
Michelle Williams in Vera Wang
Hilary Swank in Guy Laroche
Charlize Theron in Gucci
Angelina Jolie in Marc Bouwer
Jennifer Lopez in Valentino
Halle Berry in Elie Saab
Björk in Marjan Pejoski
Renée Zellweger in vintage Jean Dessès
Gwyneth Paltrow in Ralph Lauren
Sharon Stone in Gap and Vera Wang
Cher in Bob Mackie
Courtney Love in Versace
Nicole Kidman in John Galliano for Christian Dior
Winona Ryder in Chanel
Kate Winslet in Vivienne Westwood
Claudia Schiffer in Versace
Winona Ryder in Badgley Mischka
Cindy Crawford in Hervé Léger
Juliette Lewis in vintage gown
Martha Plimpton in vintage gown
Jamie Lee Curtis in Marlene Dietrich vintage
Farrah Fawcett in Stephen Burrow
Cher in Bob Mackie
Elizabeth Taylor in Edith Head
Barbra Streisand in Arnold Scaasi
Grace Kelly in Edith Head

If awards season is a fashion feast, the Oscars red carpet is its grand finale. While it’s a spectator sport for the fashion set even the most casual fashion onlooker will recall a favourite dress.

Some Oscars gowns become the backdrop for unforgettable drama. Gwyneth Paltrow’s blush pink Ralph Lauren dress is etched into fashion history—perhaps even more so than her Shakespeare in Love Best Actress win, which was clouded by controversy. And who could forget Halle Berry in her blood-red Elie Saab gown, looking every bit the icon as she accepted her Monster’s Ball Oscar—just moments before fending off an unwanted kiss from Adrien Brody? (We can only imagine her blood was boiling as much as the fashion world was swooning.)

And, some Oscars dresses bring their own drama and outshine the nominated films. Puckish Icelandic singer Björk’s Marjan Pejoski swan dress ruffled more than a few feathers when she wore it to the Oscars in 2001 with some calling it a joke and others recognising its avant-garde brilliance. And in 1969, Barbra Streisand scandalised viewers in a sheer Arnold Scaasi pantsuit—a daring move that, unbeknownst to her, revealed more than she intended under the stage lights. A controversy at the time, now it’s a look we’d wear to dinner without a second thought.

As we anticipate the 2026 Academy Awards red carpet, we’re reflecting on the best Oscars fashion moments of all time—the dresses that live rent-free in our memories.