Every 2026 award show—the Golden Globes, the Actor Awards, and the BAFTAs—has led to this moment: Welcome to the 2026 Oscars red carpet. The celebrity guest list is finalized, Oscar statuettes are polished, and host Conan O’Brien is rehearsing his monologue as we speak. But wait: Before the lights dim inside the Dolby Theatre, Marie Claire is here to deliver the best live red carpet fashion updates.
As a Marie Claire celebrity fashion expert by day and award-season superfan by night, trust me when I say the 98th Annual Academy Awards will deliver standout fashion moments. Best Actress winners alone have consistently made it a night to remember, from Barbra Streisand’s naked dress in 1961 to Gwyneth Paltrow’s pink Ralph Lauren gown in 1999 and Halle Berry’s sheer Elie Saab dress in 2002. There may not be a dress code (unlike the newly-renamed Actor Awards), but preceding Oscar winners have set a high bar for modern-day nominees.
This year’s class of Best Actress hopefuls—Emma Stone, Jessie Buckley, Rose Byrne, Renate Reinsve, and Kate Hudson—is certainly up to the red-carpet task. On the fashion front, each nominee has a fighting chance of ending up on senior news editor Halie LeSavage’s post-Oscars best-dressed list. I’m also scanning the red carpet for Best Supporting Actress nominees, including Teyana Taylor, Elle Fanning, Wunmi Mosaku, Amy Madigan, and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas. Taylor, for one, is a sartorial wildcard, after wearing Schiaparelli, Thom Browne, Burberry, and Ashi Studio this season. Then there’s Mosaku, who could decorate her growing baby bump in any number of major designers.
Regardless of who takes home an Oscar, the evening is set up to make fashion history. Plus, ABC’s broadcast, streaming live on Hulu, will begin an hour earlier this year: 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. Marie Claire’s red carpet coverage won’t stop with the official red carpet, either. Even after the final award is presented, I’ll switch gears to the 2026 Vanity Fair Oscar Watch party, where the style plot twists will keep on coming.
For now, my fellow editors and I will share to-the-minute updates on the 2026 Oscars red carpet fashion. That includes raw, honest reactions, too…