The red carpet at the Academy Awards may be the most important red carpet of the year (well, next to the Met Gala red carpet, but that’s just us). At the Oscars, actresses (or their stylists) pull out all the stops: the most over-the-top runway gowns, the most glamorous one-off dresses—this is their one moment to fly close to the sun, to become a pop-culture moment.
The fall-season collections just wrapped up, and browsing through them it was impossible not to think about the looks that should be immediately whisked away to Los Angeles for Oscar contention. Which dresses are being fought for? Which dresses hold in their seams a career level-up for their lucky wearer? Which dresses are last-minute picks that end up being exactly right? And which Versace dress has already been claimed before it walks the red carpet in LA tonight? We’ll find out about that last one on Sunday, but in the meantime here are all the dresses that should walk the Academy Award red carpet—along with a few predictions for the nominated actresses.
For the Actress That Didn’t Come to Make Friends—She Came to Win
For the Actress Who Loves Old Hollywood
For Cate Blanchett, Best-Actress Nominee for Tár (If She Doesn’t Re-wear Something From a Previous Red Carpet)
For the Actress Who Is a Redhead
For the Actress Who Wants to Make a Subtle Impact Because She Hopes to Be in Contention Next Year
For Michelle Williams, Best-Actress Nominee for The Fabelmans
For the Actress Over 50 Who Works Hard for Her Body
For Angela Bassett, Best-Supporting-Actress Nominee for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
For the Actress Who Is Presenting
For Michelle Yeoh, Best-Actress Nominee for Everything Everywhere All at Once
For the Actress Who Is a Real Fashionphile
For Jamie Lee Curtis, Best-Supporting-Actress Nominee for Everything Everywhere All at Once
For the Actress Who Loves to Give Young Ingenue
For Ana de Armas, Best-Actress Nominee for Blonde
For the Actress Who Got Her Start In the Theater
For Stephanie Hsu, Best-Supporting-Actress Nominee for Everything Everywhere All at Once
For the Young Actress Whose Parents Are Hollywood Royalty (to Wear at the Vanity Fair After-party)
For Hong Chau, Best-Supporting-Actress Nominee for The Whale
For the Actress Who Didn’t Receive a Nomination This Year
For the Actress Who Did Her Time in Little Dresses and Now Always Chooses Glamorous Comfort
For Kerry Condon, Best-Supporting-Actress Nominee for The Banshees of Inisherin
For the Actress Who Is There “to Support” (Wear a Cool Outfit, Relax, and Have a Good Time)
For Andrea Riseborough, Best-Actress Nominee for To Leslie
For the Actress Who Made a Really Serious Movie But Wants to Show She’s Actually Fun IRL
