When Margot Robbie arrived late for the Oscars red carpet in an unremarkable black Versace strapless gown, the subdued sartorial mood of the night was set in stone – or Barbie plastic.
After a headline-grabbing press tour for the movie, with painstakingly recreated looks from the doll’s past, Robbie chose to look as unremarkable as a genetically blessed blonde movie star possibly can at Hollywood’s most celebrated event.
Margot Robbie at the Oscars in Versace.Credit: Getty
It was chic, elegant and 100 per cent OK. Perhaps a pink gasp-worthy gown was only available if Barbie director Greta Gerwig, or Robbie’s acting had received nominations.
The subdued tone extended to the excess of black, worn by Eva Longoria in a gown by Australian designer Tamara Ralph, Jamie Lee Curtis in Dolce & Gabbana and Mary Steenburgen in a strapless Tom Ford gown with a belt for a neckline.
There were no Bjork swans, Cher headpieces or Zendaya cropped shirts, but elegance could still be heard, except it was in whispers rather than shouts.
The Oscars best dressed
Best dressed: Sandra Huller and Emily Blunt in Schiaparelli and Billie Eilish in Chanel.Credit: AP
Sandra Hüller
The right Oscars dress can raise your profile faster than buying social media followers. Just ask Australian costumer Lizzy Gardiner, who wore gold credit cards to the 1995 Academy Awards, or Billy Porter in Christian Siriano at the 2019 ceremony.
German actor Sandra Hüller’s custom gown by Daniel Roseberry for Schiaparelli is certain to appear on best Oscar dress compilations for years to come and keep the 45-year-old’s name in bold print.
The hourglass gown was created using black stretch velvet and defined by an exaggerated off-the-shoulder neckline extending like the wings of a Park Avenue bat. The bustier was stamped with a sparkling paddock, but the key is its air of bygone sophistication.
Emily Blunt
The subtle surrealism of Schiaparelli is a red carpet winner. Emily Blunt wore an unusual fitted gown with stiff straps levitating above the shoulders and embellished details below the waist resembling the silhouette of Y-fronts. Strange? Maybe. Beautiful? Definitely.
Billie Eilish
Following seasons of staid runway shows and divisive red carpet appearances on Margot Robbie, Chanel has been suffering a crisis of cool under Virginie Viard, Karl Lagerfeld’s successor as creative director. Billie Eilish to the rescue.
Ignoring the onslaught of impractical gowns, such as Ariana Grande’s seemingly inflatable pink Giambattista Valli, Eilish wore a Chanel tweed skirt, nipped waist black blazer and glossy Mary Jane shoes with long white socks. The What I Was Made For singer looked like a Japanese Manga heroine or librarian from 1950s pulp fiction.
Adding to the intrigue was Eilish’s perfectly pretty make-up and blown-out locks. Lagerfeld would approve.
Zendaya
Working with Zendaya must be a blessing and a curse. Zendaya’s Dune castmates Florence Pugh and Anya Taylor-Thomas looked perfectly lovely in Christian Dior haute couture and Del Core, but it was clear who deserved red carpet top-billing, as usual.
Best dressed: Zendaya in Armani Prive; Lupita Nyong’o in Armani Prive; Bradley Cooper in Louis Vuitton.Credit: Getty
In a strapless Armani Privé gown inspired by the spring 2024 collection, Zendaya resembled one of Truman Capote’s less troubled “Swans”. The slightly askew embellished pink palm print, with gunmetal grey sequins, was the visual embodiment of “Barbenheimer”. Zendaya was in neither film, but now owns the trend.
Lupita Nyong’o
The peplum, a redundant skirt detail on dresses, has been struggling to make a return to the fashion front lines. Emma Stone’s mint gown with a peplum detail by Louis Vuitton didn’t help the cause, but Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong’o offered some assistance with a lighter touch.
The 12 Years a Slave Oscar-winner’s pale blue sequinned gown from Armani Privé featured a feathered peplum and hemline. It was a modern take on the flapper style of the 1920s without the frenzy.
Bradley Cooper
Hollywood’s leading men are still navigating the new terrain of black tie dressing, but Maestro director and star Bradley Cooper managed to look classic, contemporary and composed. There was no tie, but the relaxed fit of Cooper’s Louis Vuitton double-breasted suit, with wide-leg trousers, was the height of fresh formality.
Best dressed: Gabrielle Union-Wade in Carolina Herrera; Simu Liu in Fendi; Grace Gummer in Gucci; Greta Lee in Loewe.Credit: Getty, AP
Gabrielle Union-Wade
Sometimes a collection is so beautiful that you want to wear all of it at once. Bring It On star Gabrielle Union-Wade settled on just two pieces, a skirt and a dress worn together, from the Carolina Herrera pre-fall 2024 collection by US designer Wes Gordon.
The collection was inspired by the label’s Venezuelan founder. The peplum-dress and skirt combination created a chic silhouette. No word yet on the comfort factor when it came to sitting down.
Simu Liu
In the Barbie movie, Simu Liu was just the other Ken, but on the Oscars red carpet, he managed to upstage Ryan Gosling. Both actors wore all black, with Gosling in a Gucci suit with open shirt, but Liu’s shirtless approach was the winner. The relaxed silhouette and brooch clasp on the Fendi suit was more than Ken-ough.
Grace Gummer
Actor Grace Gummer was attending the Oscars with husband and DJ Mark Ronson, but is best known as the daughter of Oscars patron saint Meryl Streep. The Dr Death actor successfully stepped out of her husband and mother’s shadow in a red Gucci dress that captured the disco heat of the Studio 54 era. An abundance of sequins, sheer sleeves and daring slit added more drama than a re-run of The Devil Wears Prada.
Greta Lee
And the award for best dressed of the entire awards season goes to Greta Lee, star of Oscar-nominated Past Lives. Following stand-out red carpet moments at the Golden Globes in Loewe and Screen Actors Guild Awards in The Row, Lee sealed her style status at the Oscars. The black Loewe dress with a white scarf detail eschewed the label’s usual quirk for classicism.
Make the most of your health, relationships, fitness and nutrition with our Live Well newsletter. Get it in your inbox every Monday.