The stars, of course, looked nice too. Below, see photos of some of the trends on the red — ah, beige — carpet.
Jay Ellis of “Top Gun: Maverick” arrived at the Dolby Theatre in a custom Fendi tuxedo with shiny beading on the jacket, while Harvey Guillen (“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish”) swished dramatically into view wearing an elegant black jacquard tux with wide slacks and a jacket with a long, sweeping train.
Designer Christian Siriano told the hosts of the E! red-carpet broadcast that his aim was to incorporate the movement of glamorous Old Hollywood-type gowns into Guillen’s look: “That masculine-feminine play — I love to do that in my work,” Siriano said. Guillen paired his ensemble with another old-timey touch: finger waves in his hair.
Model Winnie Harlow, who told E’s Laverne Cox that she was aiming to re-create 2000s glam, wore a sporty 2005 Armani in soft yellow with a sequined black rosette and a zipper snaking up one side. Best supporting actress nominee Hong Chau (“The Whale”), meanwhile, arrived in a custom petal-pink Prada column gown with a black, feathered train with a tiny Mandarin collar — “a little shout-out to my roots,” Chau said.
Fellow best supporting actress nominees Stephanie Hsu (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) and Kerry Condon (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) wore pastel-pink Valentino and pale-yellow Versace, respectively, while Halle Bailey (star of the upcoming “Little Mermaid”) wore aquamarine Dolce & Gabbana.
The return of the bow tie
Though recent years have seen a dearth of traditional bow ties, the angular accessory has made something of a comeback on the tuxes of 2023 attendees. Best actor nominee Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”) paired his black Giorgio Armani tux with one. Ellis opted for one as well, and 2022 Oscar winner Questlove reached for a black bow tie for his all-black ensemble.
Harry Shum Jr. (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) reached for a head-turning Adeam tuxedo ensemble: a long white jacket with navy-blue trim, paired with navy slacks and a navy silk obi belt. “It’s East meets West,” he said. Shum’s castmate James Hong, meanwhile, wore a bow tie with a delightful detail: the film’s signature googly eyes.
It was Eva Longoria who actually referred to her gown — a beaded, bejeweled Zuhair Murad with a choker detail above a plunging front — as a disco ball, but the glittering, metallic, geometric look popped up all over outside the Dolby Theatre. Sigourney Weaver (“Avatar: The Way of Water”) wore spiky earrings and a shimmering, gold long-sleeved Givenchy gown with an animal print that glimmered like fish scales. Oscar winner Ariana DeBose (“West Side Story”) wore a white Atelier Versace with a plunging neckline, sharp shoulders and mirror-like beading in geometric patterns.
Romantic and regal, exaggerated and airy silhouettes helped carve out a wide radius for each of their wearers at this year’s Oscars. Angela Bassett (nominated for best supporting actress for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”) wore a royal purple Jeremy Scott Moschino with puffy sleeves; Fan Bingbing and Cara Delevingne also went big on sleeves, the former in a green and silver Tony Ward Couture with a butterfly-wing silhouette and the latter in a deep crimson custom Elie Saab with a high slit and a large bow on the shoulder.
Allison Williams, meanwhile, wore her ruffles on her train in a rosy Giambattista Valli. And Florence Pugh, infusing youthful energy into a stately style, wore a gray Valentino that opened in the front to reveal a pair of itty-bitty black shorts.