From the first camera flash at the Oscars 2026 to the last interview, the Oscar red carpet 2026 is where stars are forever immortalized in fashion history. Think: Halle Berry in Elie Saab, Michelle Williams in Vera Wang, Ariana Grande in Schiaparelli. But whether you’re attending the Oscars 2026 as a first-time nominee, watching the ceremony from the comfort of your couch, or excitedly counting down the hours until the Vanity Fair Oscar Party makes its LACMA debut, one thing is for certain: On Sunday, March 15, all eyes will be on the Oscar red carpet 2026 as it kicks off Hollywood’s biggest night.
As the 98th Academy Awards ceremony returns to the Dolby Theatre to honor achievements in films released in 2025, the Oscars 2026 mark the culmination of a long awards season that began in early January with the Critics Choice Awards and the Golden Globes, took Oscar hopefuls overseas for the BAFTAs, and brought them back to Los Angeles for the Actor Awards. While Bugonia, F1, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value, Sinners, and Train Dreams are all in the race for best picture, the acting nominees will be the ones to watch on the Oscar red carpet 2026. As the old adage goes, dress for the job you want—and on the Oscar red carpet 2026, eagle-eyed viewers should look out for which nominees are dressed like they’re ready to take the stage and hoist that statuette high above their head during a rousing acceptance speech.
Jessie Buckley (Hamnet), Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I’d Kick You), Kate Hudson (Song Sung Blue), Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value), and Emma Stone (Bugonia) have been red-carpet fixtures all awards season long, supporting their various films in style by experimenting with texture, color, and varying silhouettes. At the Oscars 2026, they’ll compete for best actress (and, unknowingly, a spot on Vanity Fair’s best-dressed list). Meanwhile, in the best-supporting-actress race, Elle Fanning (Sentimental Value), Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (Sentimental Value), Amy Madigan (Weapons), Wunmi Mosaku (Sinners), and Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another) are all going for Oscar gold.
Back in January, long before the ceremony, Ryan Coogler’s Sinners already made Oscar history by breaking the record for the most nominations ever received by a single movie, as a result of its 16 total nods. That count includes a best-actor nod for Michael B. Jordan, who plays identical twins Smoke and Stack in Coogler’s dramatic thriller.