America Ferrera bid a fond awards season farewell to "Barbie" on the Oscars red carpet Sunday in a stunning, sparkly Atelier Versace gown in the film's signature pink, while Rita Moreno wore a huge smile and a statement black gown from Badgley Mischka.
"America Ferrera did bombshell right and gave us the cool Barbie pink moment we needed this whole time, aka it didn’t smack us over the head," said Brooke Bobb, fashion news director for Harper's Bazaar.
Hollywood's big night in Los Angeles included few fashion risks, with many sticking to classic silhouettes, black and other standard colors. Others offered an under-the-sea-vibe in soft seafoam colors with mermaid crystals and shell-like designs.
Emma Stone was in the sea camp in a soft pastel strapless look with a faint shell pattern in mint and a wide peplum at the waist. It was Louis Vuitton. Hailee Steinfeld in Elie Saab was also sea-like in sheer ethereal blue-green with wings attached at the wrist. Lupita Nyong'o was sea-adjacent in feathers and sequins by Armani Privé.
RITA MORENO TAKES THE RED CARPET Moreno, at 92, waved to photographers as she showed off her pleated taffeta and velvet gown. Brittany Snow offered a refreshing show of color in a bright strapless custom Mônot dress paired with a statement choker.
Cynthia Erivo, in custom Louis Vuitton, shut down the carpet in emerald green lamb leather, dinosaur-like spikes along the back of a large-shouldered jacket. Emily Blunt and hubby John Krasinski matched in off-white, she in Schiaparelli couture with shoulders that floated above her body, that extended silhouette touch a mini-trend of the night.
Anya Taylor-Joy was full shell in a Dior Haute Couture strapless look in a sparkly scallop design.
DA'VINE JOY RANDOLPH IN LOUIS VUITTON Da'Vine Roy Randolph, on the top of her fashion game this awards season, wore an A-line pale blue tulle gown from Louis Vuitton with oversized sleeves embellished with tulle fringe. Ariana Grande also went big in a puffy pink gown that also had huge sleeves on a matching coat.
InStyle beauty director Lauren Valenti lauded Randolph's effort.
"I loved Da’Vine’s beauty homage to Mae West, which featured cat eyes, glossy lined lips and va-va-voom side-swept blonde waves," she said.
Lavender had a moment on a few. So did Billie Eilish in a Chanel schoolgirl look with a black jacket, pattern skirt, white socks and black Mary Janes. She and others on the carpet wore red pins supporting a ceasefire in Gaza.
"This year in general, the power of the red carpet was driven by women whose confidence felt utterly authentic and not like an exercise in branding," Bobb said. "Embracing personal style really is the only way to land on the best-dressed list these days."
The "Godzilla Minus One" group, meanwhile, showed up carrying toy monsters.
MOSTLY BLACK FOR THE MEN Many men stuck to black in tuxedos and other looks, including a fashion star of the awards season, Colman Domingo in a double-breasted tuxedo look, a custom Louis Vuitton, paired with cowboy boots and a jewel at the center of his bow tie. He wore a pinkie ring that once belonged to the man behind his "Rustin" character, Bayard Rustin, as he has throughout awards season.
"I wanted to shine like a diamond″ he told E! "I’m having a great time."
Speaking of gems, Lily Gladstone won the jewelry game. She paired her midnight blue velvet gown with a Bulgari necklace in white gold with turquoise touches and blue oval tanzanite at the center.
Her custom Gucci gown was created in collaboration with Indigenous designer Joe Big Mountain of Ironhorse Quillwork. It featured a hand-wrapped porcupine quilled border in blue with a natural woven star design and sterling silver-plated bead edging.
Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper also went for black tuxedos. Gosling wore Gucci with silver bead piping, and Cooper wore double-breasted in Louis Vuitton. No ties for either, along with others.
"Bradley Cooper tells Brad Pitt to move over by leaving his tie, and Gigi Hadid, at home and instead brought his tan, a double-breasted tux embellished with turquoise buttons and slicked hair that took my breath away," said Larry Curran, an independent brand consultant who has worked with Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman.
SANDRA HÜLLER STUNS IN SCHIAPARELLI As for the women, Sandra Hüller was on Curran's best-dressed list.
"Correctly, she skipped earrings and chose a diamond necklace (Cartier) that brought balance to the oversized, off-the-shoulder wings of the dress, and another sparkly embellishment placed in between them," he said.
There was a predictable spray of sequins for the women. White looks also represented, including Kirsten Dunst in Gucci. There was lots of black for the women, too, including a custom Schiaparelli for Hüller with extended shoulders and the perfect fit.
Erika Alexander of "American Fiction" wore a white strapless gown with a black skirt trimmed in pastel tulle. The designer, Christian Siriano, said it was made in a miraculous four days.
THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT ON DRESS-UP NIGHT A couple of little cuties in nominated short films were delighted to walk. Porché Brinker of "The Last Repair Shop" was in ethereal soft blue, and Juliet Donenfeld of "Red, White and Blue" looked all-the-way grown up in a blinged-out strapless dress.
Red, an "IT" color of the awards season, had some early enthusiasts as arrivals heated up.
Issa Rae, always a red carpet standout, failed to disappoint in plunging deep green from Ami Paris. The top sparkled.
"I am wearing green for good luck," she said. "I wanted to feel old Hollywood."
Julee Wilson, beauty editor at large for Cosmopolitan, praised Rae's beauty look.
"Her sleek topknot and glowing skin are the perfect combo. Her hair was elegantly pulled away to showcase high shine skin. It sparkles," she said. "I need to know what’s making it glow so much!"
Gabrielle Union wore another knockout, a strong silver embellished look from Carolina Herrera that offered an armor vibe.
"I am feeling myself," Union said.
VANESSA HUDGENS DEBUTS BUMP IN VERA WANG Vanessa Hudgens brought along one special accessory. She revealed her baby bump under a body-hugging Vera Wang turtleneck gown in black as she hosted ABC's pre-show coverage.
Among the risk-takers? Charlotte Kemp Muhl, who walked with Sean Ono Lennon in a backless and near sideless black dress.
Daniel Scheinert of the Daniels wore a Fashion Brand Company jacket adorned with a snake. It's a buzzy brand worn by a lot of comedians, including SNL’s Sarah Sherman.
Jodi Kahn, Neiman Marcus' vice president of luxury fashion, saw plenty for her customers on the red carpet.
"We saw a lot of black, beautifully on Sandra Hüller in Schiaparelli as well as Danielle Brooks in Dolce & Gabbana, Jennifer Lawrence in Dior and Margot Robbie in Versace," she said. "While we usually see lots of bold color on the red carpet it’s striking to see all of the beautiful black, elegant gowns."
She included Eilish in that group.
"In Chanel, Billie took a modern approach to ladylike style, which will easily inspire long, lean skirts and jackets into our customers wardrobes. Black will always be fashion's favorite color."
A BIT OF TROUSER FLARE FOR THE MEN Jonathan Evans, style director for Esquire, said you had to look closely to see one of the biggest red carpet trends.
"Even though they kept it relatively classic otherwise, a surprising number of guys opted for flared trousers this year. Simu Liu, Bradley Cooper and Colman Domingo all embraced a little extra room around the ankle, and it looked great," he said.
EJ Briones, executive fashion editor for Bustle, saw another strong trend.
"Embellished corsets dominated the red carpet with looks from Hailee Steinfeld in Elie Saab Couture, Florence Pugh in Del Core and Danielle Brooks in custom Dolce & Gabbana. The heavy detail of the bodice against the softness created a beautiful juxtaposition," he said.
Among the men who opted out of black was Taylor Zakhar Perez in powder blue. Liu of "Barbie" brought the Kenergy. He rocked a black Fendi look with a wrap-around jacket closed with a brooch.
"It's a fun situation, and I like brooches," he said.
