It comes as no surprise when the people who take home an Oscar are frequently the ones winning best dressed as well.
In a way, the results of each Academy Awards show isn’t really a shock. We have the Critics' Choice Awards, the Golden Globes and other events that tend to predict who is going to walk home at the end of the night with the biggest awards including best actress, best actor and best picture.
Just look at the fashion of winners in years past. In 2017, Emma Stone showed up to the Academy Awards looking like a literal Oscar in a golden, flashy beaded Givenchy dress. It came as no surprise when she walked home at the end of the night as best actress. She dressed for her shining moment and acceptance speech.
This year however, Stone’s apparel gives off a much different vibe. She showed up to present the award for Best Director in a silk suit by Louis Vuitton. It was a maroon blazer paired with navy trousers and a vibrant pink sash around her waist.
It met the formal dress code requirements, but also it was an outfit only a celebrity without any pressure for the night could pull off. The sleek silhouette of the power suit oozed the experience of an Oscar alum. While her look will be remembered, it doesn’t steal the show, because it’s now someone else’s turn to have all eyes on them.
Then there are the icons who don’t have to follow any rules when it comes to attire guidelines. Rita Moreno is one of the 12 people to win an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony award. She pranced on the Oscar stage this year in the exact dress she wore when she won an Oscar in 1962 for “West Side Story.” It was a black, strapless gown with golden prints all over the skirt of the dress. This timeless look could only be pulled off by an artist who has earned the right to an outfit repeat.
Then there are the newcomers who dressed to show their promising future. At 22-years-old, Timothée Chalamet is one of the youngest people to be nominated for best actor. While he may be a rookie, he took the red carpet like a professional ready to win. He was dressed in a Berluti suit that was all-white right down to the bowtie. He may not have won best actor, but his outfit promised he would be back in the near future.
While some actors lose 20 pounds and others are caked in layers of makeup just for a role, the most important costume of all is the one they wear to the Oscars. More often than not, the attire on the pre-show red carpet tells you the all the results for the night before an envelope is even cracked open.
