Why Lily Gladstone’s Red Carpet Style Is Oscar-Worthy
Following her breakout role in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, which depicts the real-lie serial murders of Osage Nation members in the 1920s, Lily Gladstone is now an Oscar frontrunner for Best Actress. And it’s a historic nomination, no less: Gladstone is now the first Native American star to ever be nominated in the lead category. “It’s something that I wasn’t sure I would see in my career, in my lifetime,” she told The New York Times. “I hope that it just means that people start caring more and learning more about these histories.” It’s about time.
Adding to her historic accomplishment, the Indigenous actor (and recent British Vogue cover star) has an A-list red carpet style to match her Oscars buzz. Throughout awards season, Gladstone has graced each step and repeat with clear intention. Whether at the Golden Globes—where she delivered a powerful winning speech—or the star-studded Academy Museum Gala, Gladstone has used her moment in the spotlight to uplift and support the Indigenous designers within her community.
Working with stylist Jason Rembert, she started her thoughtful approach to red carpet at last year’s Cannes Film Festival. For the premiere of her Scorsese film, the star wore a floral Valentino gown punctuated with a pair of tiered dentalium earrings by Jamie Okuma—the first Indigenous designer to be inducted into the CFDA, hailing from the La Jolla Indian Reservation in southern California. Later that week, for the film’s official photo call, Gladstone wore a black caped Chanel ensemble, accessorized with a pair of beaded and dentalium earrings by Shelby LeeAnn Gorman. Her jewelry choices, including a copper Jennifer Younger necklace for the premiere after-party in Cannes, were a stylish nod to her own heritage.
Throughout awards season, Gladstone has continuously worn pieces from Native artists. At a Time100 Next event in New York, she paired a printed dress by the Indigenous label Burning Wagon Designs with an Hermès coat and Jennifer Younger earrings. At the Golden Globes, her Valentino gown and cape was punctuated with beaded earrings by Lenise Omeasoo, a Blackfeet and Cree beadwork artist. “It’s incredibly empowering to know that another Blackfeet woman chose to wear my earrings on such a huge night in her career,” Omeasoo told Vogue. For the Critics Choice Awards, Gladstone wore custom Christian Siriano with a pair of dentalium earrings by Elias Jade Not Afraid, a prominent Apsaalooké beadwork artist.
Gladstone’s approach to dressing—bringing Native artists to the forefront—is commendable, given so few Indigenous designers are represented and given their due on the red carpet. What she wears is not just an opportunity to play dress up and deliver a fashion fantasy: It also points to the need for more Indigenous artists to be included in these types of fashion spaces, just as her own Academy Award nomination has highlighted the need for a more diverse Hollywood. It’s a prime example of how fashion can be a powerful call-to-action. If red carpet style were an Oscar category, she’d definitely win.
Below, see more of Gladstone’s best red carpet looks.
Photo: Getty Images1/12In Chanel and Shelby LeeAnn Gorman earrings
Photo: Getty Images2/12In Pamela Baker
