From left to right: Charlotte Lawrence in Valentino, Cynthia Erivo in Vivienne Westwood, Sarah Paulson in Marc Jacobs, and Rosalia in Dilara FindikogluCollage: Vogue
The 2025 Oscars confirmed it: There is no bigger red-carpet flex, no more powerful confirmation of one’s fashion chops, than getting to be the first to wear a look that walked the runway less than a month ago. Forget seasons, this is now a game of breakneck speed. Rosalía’s Dilara Findikoglu frock for the Vanity Fair after-party? It was on the runway at London Fashion Week eight days ago, thank you very much. And the custom Schiaparelli gown that Ariana Grande wore on the red carpet last night? It walked the runway in Paris during the couture collections 34 days ago.
The runway–to–red carpet pipeline has effectively burst—chalk that up to the internet’s ongoing fashion fascination. Five to 10 years ago, celebrities would get to wear runway pieces once the collections were in stores, meaning months after their catwalk debuts. Now labels like to extend a collection’s moment by placing it on a red carpet as soon as possible after it has been on the catwalk. But this game is all about finding the right muse. These days, the mark of a true star is how covetable a look they can get.
By that measure, Grande’s Schiaparelli two-puncher confirms her ascension to movie-star status. All it takes is the right role—just ask Cher! Alba Rohrwacher was the first to wear Alessandro Michele’s Valentino spring 2025 couture collection (debuted 32 days ago), and Sarah Paulson got to take the closing look from Marc Jacobs’s fabulous New York show (27 days ago). Olivia Rodrigo’s black leather Cavalli was on the Milan runway literally three days ago, as was Ciara’s Dsquared2 number. The men turned it out too—Omar Apollo’s Willy Chavarria suit walked the Paris men’s catwalks in late January, as did Danny Ramirez’s Amiri look. Scroll through for more looks from the 2025 Oscars.
