Oscars 2025 red carpet fashion highlights

And the Oscar for taking up the most room on the red carpet goes to … the “Wicked” duo of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, whose voluminous fashion at the 97^th annual Academy Awards definitely deserved some sort of award. Erivo, nominated for best actress, channeled her character Elphaba in an enormous dark-green velvet Louis Vuitton gown with a stand-up pointy collar that looked capable of launching her into space, or at least defying gravity. Grande, a supporting actress nominee, sported a strapless pale-pink Ode to a Lampshade, if that lampshade were designed by Glinda the Good Witch. (Well, OK, it was really Schiaparelli.) 

As always, the fashion parade before the Oscars get underway was good fun, particularly if you have a fondness for sparkle, which seemed very much in the forefront this year. Best actress nominee Demi Moore, in glittery silver Armani Privè, looked like she was dressed to win (the gown would set off a gold Oscar quite nicely). Also elegantly reflective were Selena Gomez (“Emilia Pérez”) in a perfectly fitted pinkish Ralph Lauren; Mindy Kaling in a halter gown that looked as if she were fetchingly encased in silver leaves; and last year’s best actress winner Emma Stone in sleek silver sequins.

If you prefer something more colorful, Zoe Saldaña’s Saint Laurent gown was in a lovely shade of burgundy with a trio of bubble skirts and sheer black elbow-length gloves; not a look that many can carry off, but hey, she’s up to it. Adriana Paz (“Emilia Pérez”) and Marissa Bode (“Wicked”) wore vivid red; best actor nominee Timothée Chalamet garbed himself in head-to-toe banana yellow for some reason, and Isabella Rossellini (nominated for supporting actress, “Conclave”) gave a nod to one of her past film roles — and to the late David Lynch — by wearing a gown in rich-looking blue velvet.  

A few nominees demonstrated that there’s fun to be had in a classic blazer. Best song nominee Brandi Carlile wore a whimsical polka-dot jacket with a red bow, which coordinated nicely with her wife Catherine Shepherd’s black-and-white-with-red-tights ensemble. Bowen Yang wore a black leather jacket with colorful embroidery; Jeremy Strong wore a tux in a curious shade of olive green; and musician Lisa wore a floor-length black satin-lapeled tuxedo jacket over a long white shirtdress, accessorized with a red carnation.

Speaking of accessories, hats off — if I had a hat — to Yasmin Finney (of the British television series “Heartstopper”) whose black strapless gown had an elaborate, face-framing arch of reedy feathers rising from the bodice, making her look as if she were rising from some magical dark ocean. (I’m sure she couldn’t look sideways — Erivo couldn’t either — but fashion has a price.)

And a few nominees brought unexpected guests to the red carpet: Nicolas Keppens, director of the nominated animated short film “Beautiful Men,” sported a Snugli that held a character from his film: a bespectacled, bald fellow in a porkpie hat who seemed underdressed for the occasion. And Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham, co-directors of the nominated animated film “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl,” carried small figures of their title characters, with Wallace sporting a sparkly green blazer and Gromit in a red bow tie. Nice to see fashion in all sizes.