The Oscar Nominees Luncheon Peaked in the ’90s

Nowadays, the Oscars Nominees Luncheon—the annual event for the year’s Academy Award contenders, where a formal group photo is always taken—is just another glitzy stop on the awards season campaign trail; yet another opportunity for polished method dressing and relentless glad-handing. Not so, however, in the ’80s, ’90s, and early aughts. Back then, the likes of Steven Spielberg, Whoopi Goldberg, River Phoenix, and Frances McDormand would show up in jeans rather than crisp tailoring; Cate Blanchett and Gwyneth Paltrow in plush knitwear rather than show-stopping ballgowns; and Sofia Coppola in the minimalist, pared-back separates that have always been her signature. Most attendees went makeup-free, wore flats, donned sunglasses, carried their own bags on the low-key step-and-repeat (shocking, I know), and just didn’t seem to take the whole thing all that seriously. In short, it was a whole other world.

In honor of the 2026 Oscar nominees luncheon on February 10, revisit the event’s refreshingly casual heyday below.