By the time the 98th Academy Awards actually started on March 15 on ABC and Hulu, the real competition was already over. The Oscars 2026 red carpet had quietly crowned its winners in sequins, feathers, and a frankly disrespectful amount of carats.

If you spent the pre-show toggling between group chat and live stream, this is your recap. Here is the Oscars 2026 best dressed roll call, complete with who wore which designer, who had the most jaw-dropping jewelry bill, and the trends you are about to see copied and pasted into every gala moodboard for the next year.

The Mood On The 2026 Oscars Red Carpet

This was not a subtle year. The overarching silhouette was big-skirted and unapologetically romantic, like the entire carpet RSVP’d “princess core, but make it couture.” Full ball gowns swept past slim, lingerie-adjacent slips, while a quiet brigade of sleek suits held the line for minimalists.

Color skewed pale and luminous — seafoam, cream, icy white — with punctuation marks of inky black and deep green. Texture did the loudest talking. Feathers floated by in every direction, from Teyana Taylor’s graphic Chanel plumage to Demi Moore’s plume-drenched Gucci. Even Pedro Pascal joined the flock with a silk-and-feather Chanel corsage pinned to a simple white shirt.

And then there was the jewelry. This carpet was sponsored by diamonds in the way the Super Bowl halftime is sponsored by Pepsi. Multi-million-dollar stones, emeralds the size of gumdrops, brooches and chokers that reminded everyone accessories are not optional at this level.

The Best Dressed Women At The 98th Academy Awards

Rose Byrne in Dior

Rose Byrne in Dior was the fashion girlie choice for best of the night. Her black strapless Dior gown, by Jonathan Anderson, was cut clean and columnar, then covered in delicate floral embroidery that read like a couture ink drawing. Florals are rare on an Oscars carpet; this one felt grown-up, graphic, and controlled, styled with a polished chignon and a single statement necklace. Chic, not saccharine.

Kate Hudson in Armani Privé

Kate Hudson in Armani Privé showed up like Hollywood royalty who knows it. The Song Sung Blue nominee picked a seafoam peplum gown that hugged in all the right places and gleamed under the lights. Then she layered on over 41 carats of rare green diamonds from Garatti, reportedly worth $35 million. The effect was vintage siren meets high-security vault, in the best way.

Elle Fanning in Givenchy by Sarah Burton

Elle Fanning in Givenchy by Sarah Burton leaned into the fairy-tale narrative she has basically grown up in. Her strapless white Givenchy gown was all hyper-embellished bodice and sweeping skirt, somewhere between bridal fantasy and Grace Kelly tribute. On another actor, it might have felt costume-y; on Elle, it read as the final evolution of the Disney princess she has always dressed as, just with sharper grown-woman polish.

Jessie Buckley in Chanel

Jessie Buckley in Chanel delivered pure winner energy in an off-the-shoulder Chanel gown that blocked shades of pink and red together like a couture valentine. The color combo could have gone saccharine, but the clean neckline, impeccable fit, and unfussy hair and makeup kept it modern. This is what dressing like you plan to be onstage later looks like.

Teyana Taylor in Chanel

Teyana Taylor in Chanel proved that “low-key for Teyana” still means absolutely extra. Her gown, embroidered with black and white glass pearls and crystals, exploded into a black and white feathered skirt that moved like smoke. The sheer bodice flashed just enough, and a Tiffany & Co. necklace featuring a diamond of more than 18 carats sat on her collarbone like it owned the room.

Zoe Saldaña in Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello

Zoe Saldaña in Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello made the lingerie trend look expensive, not borrowed-from-the-bedroom. Her lace and satin Saint Laurent slip skimmed the body, with a skirt that draped instead of clung. She kept the styling almost ascetic: sleek hair, minimal extras, and one breathtaking Cartier necklace. That restraint is why it worked.

Gwyneth Paltrow in Armani Privé

Gwyneth Paltrow in Armani Privé reminded everyone she can still do capital-M Movie Star when she feels like it. In a cream Armani Privé gown cut within an inch of its life, she let tailoring and a killer neckline do the heavy lifting. Hair down, polished but not fussy, and a single Tiffany & Co. platinum and yellow gold necklace finished the look. Minimalist glam, executed with Goop-level precision.

Wunmi Mosaku in Louis Vuitton

Wunmi Mosaku in Louis Vuitton delivered a masterclass in maternity dressing on the carpet. The Sinners nominee wore a custom hand-embroidered green Louis Vuitton gown that framed her bump rather than hiding it, with intricate beading catching the light. Paired with substantial David Yurman jewelry, it felt powerful and celebratory, not tentative.

Emma Stone in Custom Louis Vuitton

Emma Stone in Custom Louis Vuitton went sculptural in a white hand-embroidered gown that walked the line between classic and experimental. The surface work was intricate enough to hold up on telephoto lenses, while the cut stayed crisp. Less obviously princess, more “modern First Lady of fashion.”

Misty Copeland in David Koma

Misty Copeland in David Koma brought ballet to the Dolby. Her custom, ballet-inspired gown from David Koma echoed a tutu in its structure without going full costume, and she layered on nearly $2 million in Jared natural diamonds. The headline piece was a 27-carat emerald-cut ring valued at $1.8 million, which is one way to point at the telecast cameras.

Barbie Ferreira in Gap Studio by Zac Posen

For sheer cool factor, Barbie Ferreira in Gap Studio by Zac Posen deserves a mention. A Gap label on the Oscars red carpet, cut by Zac Posen, felt delightfully subversive. The sculpted dress hugged her curves like any couture column, while De Beers London diamonds and dueling statement rings dialed the whole thing straight back into full luxury territory.

Menswear Power Moves

Michael B. Jordan in Louis Vuitton

On the men’s side, the brief was classic tuxes with personality, not gimmicks. Michael B. Jordan in Louis Vuitton led the pack in a custom black Nehru-style jacket and tux pants that stripped away lapels and extras. Paired with a subtle pocket chain and David Yurman jewelry, the look felt confident, almost zen, like a man who knows he has Best Actor in the bag.

Hudson Williams in Balenciaga

Hudson Williams in Balenciaga went full black-tie noir in a made-to-measure Balenciaga tux, all inky layers and sharp lines. The interest came from the accessories: a Bulgari brooch and watch that flickered on camera just enough to signal serious-budget styling without shouting.

Jeremy Pope in Ami Paris

Jeremy Pope in Ami Paris offered a masterclass in updated black and white. His custom Ami Paris tux, styled with a brooch and Blancpain watch, looked impossibly precise, the kind of tailoring that makes you double-check every suit you own.

Joe Alwyn in Valentino

Joe Alwyn in Valentino relaxed the formula with a loosely tied bow at his neck instead of a strict bow tie.

Shaboozey in Campillo

Shaboozey in Campillo leaned into musician drama with a vintage 16-carat Van Cleef & Arpels brooch (via Briony Raymond), a Chopard watch, and Mikimoto pearls cascading as a tassel at his waist.

The Top Trends on the Oscars 2026 Red Carpet

full-skirted fantasy

Trend-wise, the red carpet broke into clear camps. The first was the full-skirted fantasy brigade: Elle Fanning’s Givenchy, Jessie Buckley’s Chanel, and Ji-young Yoo’s Carolina Herrera ball gown all proved that volume, when handled correctly, still owns the Oscars.

feather faction

Then came the feather faction, from Teyana Taylor’s Chanel to Demi Moore’s Gucci and Nicole Kidman’s Chanel bustier dress with both a feathered peplum and a feather-trimmed hem. Critics may be split on the chicken-count, but there is no denying plumes ruled the night.

Feminine florals and graphic color-blocking

Florals and graphic color-blocking had a real moment as well, from Rose Byrne’s embroidered Dior and Anne Hathaway’s floral Valentino to Jessie Buckley’s pink-and-red Chanel.

Glitterin Gold and metallics

Gold and metallics shimmered on the musical side: the performers of Best Original Song “Golden” — Rei Ami in Rahul Mishra, Audrey Nuna in Thom Browne, and EJAE in Dior — committed to a coordinated gilded theme without looking like matching statues.

Dripping in Jewels

And hovering above it all was serious jewelry. Kate Hudson’s $35 million in green diamonds, Teyana Taylor’s more-than-18-carat Tiffany stone, Anne Hathaway’s over-8-carat Bulgari yellow diamond necklace, Misty Copeland’s Jared trove, and Ginnifer Goodwin’s 10.35-carat Sabyasachi emerald choker turned the carpet into a de facto diamond show.

At the 2026 Oscars, the best dressed list was not just about the dress — it was about who understood that silhouette, styling, and stones all had to hit their mark at once.