Forget the Oscars! Keep Your Eyes Peeled on Smaller Red Carpets This Awards Season

On March 10th, all eyes will be on the 2024 Oscars red carpet. Given that the whole world spectates that star-studded step and repeat, you could say there’s some pressure on awards season frontrunners such as Emma Stone, Lily Gladstone, and Da’Vine Joy Randolph to deliver a killer look at the event. The Oscars, after all, are the red carpet fashion affair. But don’t let the Academy Awards monopolize all your attention: in the lead up to the ceremony, there are numerous smaller film industry galas that pack solid fashion punch; this month’s Palm Springs International Film Festival, and last night’s Governor Awards, are but two examples.

At last night’s Governor Awards stars like Florence Pugh and Julianne Moore delivered some of their best looks of awards season thus far. Pugh shined in a glitzy blush pink Rodarte dress with a crisscross neckline and soft peplum. (Peplums, it seems, are back.) Moore, meanwhile, leaned into disco ball dressing with her long-sleeved Valentino gown. And last week at the Palm Springs festival, Margot Robbie appeared in one of her best Barbie-inspired looks yet—a pink polkadot Balmain dress—and Carey Mulligan chose the same label for her striking blue corseted look. The unifying theme between all these stars? They’re all clad in directional ensembles that they would never wear to the Oscars, an event that, for all its glamour, doesn’t always lend itself to fashion risk-taking.

Julianne Moore in Valentino
At the 2024 Governor Awards

Photo: Getty Images

Why stars choose to debut some of their most daring looks at these smaller, lesser-known affairs is not a hard thing to figure out. With less of an audience—and less of a critical eye on them!—these niche industry events are a safe arena for experimentation. They offer stars opportunities to wear that one look their stylist called in for fun. Also, the major awards shows—such as the Golden Globes, held this past weekend, or the Oscars—often have looks that are planned weeks (or months) in advance, and A-listers often have contractual agreements with brands to wear their designs. At these smaller events, there is more freedom to wear something fresh and unexpected. An opportunity to wear something just because.

So, for fashion fans expecting their favorite stars to save their best looks for last at the Oscars, you may want to rethink that theory. Instead, keep your eyes peeled on the smaller red carpets in the big lead up, such as the upcoming SAG Awards (on February 23rd) and Film Independent Spirit Awards (on February 25th). Because you’re very likely to see your favorite celebs deliver a major slay just when you least expect it.

Below, more of the best recent moments from the smaller red carpets.