The annual precision of Hollywood’s elite through the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, which is more formally known as the British Academy Film Awards, is an event pivotal to the flow of the awards season. A fixture since 1947, the BAFTAs are flanked between the Golden Globes and Academy Awards, making it a key indicator of who will take home an Oscar. And with stakes this high, it’s fitting that London should play host to a sartorial display that’s nothing short of epic.
Over the near century that the BAFTAs have been held, the red carpet has seen nascent starlets, theatrical luminaries, aristocrats, socialites and even reigning monarchs adorn its crimson flooring. (Not to mention an incredibly viral performance from Ariana DeBose that gave new meaning to the phrase “did the thing”.) As a result, the fashion has often contended with the films being honoured on both a theatrical and entertainment level.
Now, with the BAFTAs entering its Diamond Jubilee anniversary, we thought it right to look back in celebration of the most memorable looks to ever grace the event. From the perennially glamorous Audrey Hepburn wearing Givenchy in the ‘60s to Sienna Miller entrenching her signature boho chic sensibility at the United Kingdom’s premiere celebration of movie talent by wearing an Alexander McQueen slip in the early 2000s, uncover the best BAFTAs red carpet fashion of all time, ahead.
The 14 Best BAFTA Red Carpet Fashion of All Time
1. Ayo Edebiri
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Style Notes: Putting on the ritz, Ayo Edebiri channelled a silver screen darling in a custom peach column dress by Bottega Veneta whilst attending the 2024 BAFTAs. With a halter neckline and plunging sweetheart bustier, the gown was accompanied by a pair of ivory opera gloves and a thrilling fur-effect shawl that she flung around her shoulders. Marilyn, who?
2. Sienna Miller
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Style Notes: Fresh from her breakout roles in Alfie, alongside her then-boyfriend Jude Law, and Layer Cake, in which she starred across from future James Bond Daniel Craig, Sienna Miller attended the 2005 BAFTAs wearing a look from Alexander McQueen’s spring/summer 2025 collection. The range was inspired by the 1975 Australian film Picnic At Hanging Rock, resulting in a suite of hauntingly beautiful Edwardian-inspired dresses, including this candy-striped botanical slip dress pictured here.
3. Gwyneth Paltrow
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Style Notes: The year was 1999, and a few weeks prior, Gwyneth Paltrow had made fashion history by winning the Academy Award for Best Actress in a bubblegum pink taffeta gown from Ralph Lauren. Eschewing her saccharine, girl-next-door persona, Paltrow leant into a more gothic mode for her night out under English grey skies in a black two-piece set. Who said anything about not having range?
4. Marisa Abela
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Style Notes: Marisa Abela’s approach to red carpet dressing is to always deviate from the corporate attire worn by her Industry character Yasmin Kara-Hanani. Opting for a more vampy ensemble that bears no remnants of boxy blazers, tight pencil skirts or silky blouses, the actress attended the 2025 ceremony in a bespoke plum Danielle Frankel dress. She later took home the Rising Star award, making it not only a memorable fashion moment but an unforgettable—and highly emotional—night for the actress herself.
5. Elle Macpherson
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Style Notes: Babe watch? Elle MacPherson took cues from Pamela Anderson’s iconic Baywatch swimsuit at the Los Angeles iteration of the BAFTAs 1996. Or, given the fact that it was hosted at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, perhaps Julia Roberts’ iconic red dress from Pretty Woman?
6. Ariana Grande
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Style Notes: This is the part where we admit Ariana Grande’s Glinda method dressing was the best she’s ever looked. Emulating the good witch herself, the pop star wore a powdered pink Louis Vuitton peplum dress, a silhouette that proved incredibly popular throughout the press run.
7. Elizabeth Hurley
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Style Notes: Elizabeth Hurley, especially during her relationship with Hugh Grant, is no stranger to a memorable red carpet fashion moment. Though this was several years after she attended the premiere of Four Weddings and a Funeral in that Medusa safety pin black Versace dress, her love for Gianni and Donatella’s designs never waned, as seen in her. With Terry’s chocolate orange-coloured chainmail and floral embroidery, this look is proof that some fashion synergies should last a lifetime.
8. Halle Berry
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Style Notes: The early 2000s were a great time for Halle Berry. Fresh from her history-making Academy Award win as the first ever—and still to this day, only—Black woman to take home the Oscar for Best Actress at the 2002 ceremony, she showed up at the 2003 BAFTAs glowing as the statue itself. With her signature pixie crop, she slipped into a silver gown with braided detailing by Emmanuel Ungaro and topped it all off with a grey fur coat.
8. Keira Knightley
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Style Notes: Propped up as an English Rose, Keira Knightley’s red carpet moments have always felt akin to the characters she plays on screen—romantic, wistful, wind-swept and dated back to a specific time period. At the 2008 BAFTAs, the actress was nominated in the Best Actress category for her role as Cecilia in the devastating historical romance, Atonement. Shedding her signature green dress, she arrived looking every bit angelic in a tiered Valentino column gown with a wrapped bustier.
9. Emma Corrin
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Style Notes: After breaking through with their performance as Princess Diana in the third season of The Crown, Emma Corrin has spent every consequential red carpet proving they’re as much of a character dresser off-screen as they are on. So, instead of Lady Spencer’s houndstooth Moschino skirt suits or Christina Stambolian revenge dress, the actor arrived at the 2024 BAFTAs in a custom Miu Miu two-piece, which was actually inspired by the label’s autumn/winter 2011 collection, which featured micro shorts, a birdcage veil, cerulean blue tights and two massive bows clinging to their hips.
10. Julianne Moore
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Style Notes: Green is always a good idea, especially if you’re someone as quietly adventurous as Julianne Moore. The Bottega Veneta ambassador has attended the BAFTAs four times. But it was her debut look from 2000 that piqued our interest. With frosted eyeshadow, a crimson lip and a pearlescent shawl, this look is the epitome of the elevated minimalism synonymous with the period.
11. Angelina Jolie
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Style Notes: On the heels of standout performances, like Lisa Rowe in 1999’s Girl, Interrupted and the titular archaeologist and grave digger in 2002’s Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Angelina Jolie brought her signature succubus chic sensibility to the 2003 BAFTAs in a chartreuse halterneck gown from Australian fashion designer Collette Dinnigan.
12. Kate Winslet
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Style Notes: In 2001, Kate Winslet attended the BAFTAs not as a nominee, but as a presenter who delivered the Best Director prize to Ang Lee, the filmmaker she worked with in her breakout role in Sense and Sensibility. Proving that she can be both a leading lady and an ardent supporter, Winslet arrived in a sensually demure calf-length slip dress and a crochet bolero that she slung over her shoulders.
13. Jerry Hall
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Style Notes: Throwing it back to 1996, American model and actress Jerry Hall arrived at that year’s BAFTAs in a waft of ivory satin, butter yellow and powdered pink tulle and a floral embroidery. Proving you can take the girl from the runway, but you can’t take the runway from the girl.
14. Zoë Kravitz
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Style Notes: In Hollywood, a common approach to red carpet dressing is to dress like the award you’re angling to win. In 2020, Zoë Kravitz did exactly that by attending the event in a bespoke Saint Laurent dress designed specifically for the actress by Belgian creative director Anthony Vaccarello.
Shop Red Carpet-Inspired Pieces:
TALLER MARMO
Sza Sza Disco Embellished Feather-Trimmed Tulle Gown
This Taller Marmo design is incredibly similar to a Gucci gown worn by Dakota Johnson to the 2022 Vanity Fair Oscars After Party.
ALEX PERRY
Strapless Draped Satin-Crepe Gown
DANIELLE FRANKEL
Demi Strapless Gathered Silk-Satin Bustier
This chocolate brown bustier and matching skirt is near identical to the custom piece worn by Marisa Abela.
ALAÏA
Strapless Velvet Gown
Protruding breast plates is a red carpet trend endorsed by the likes of Alaïa and Loewe.
KHAITE
Colette Asymmetric Pleated Silk-Organza Gown
Very Audrey-Hepburn-in-Givenchy-coded.
TOVE
Sabi Gathered Silk-Satin and -Chiffon Gown
A slate grey shade will never lead you astray.
RICK OWENS
Strapless Cutout Sequined Denim Gown
This Rick Owens silhouette has appeared on so many red carpets over the years.
GALVAN
Valletta Satin Gown
Reformation
Jillian Silk Dress
Reformation’s occasionwear shouldn’t be overlooked, either.
Reformation
Daniela Silk Dress
The definition of Old Hollywood glamour.
MANGO
Fitted Dress With Transparent Straps
And LBD with a big impact.
CHRISTOPHER ESBER
Monument Silk-Trimmed Cashmere Mini Dress
Short hemlines have become a red carpet fixture in recent years. This Christopher Esber style recontextualises classic suiting features, like cummerbunds, into something more dainty.
Why Trust Us
At Who What Wear UK, fashion is our speciality. Our editors have years of industry experience, from reporting on seasonal fashion trends seen at international fashion weeks to working with some of the most recognisable names in fashion. Every item we recommend is carefully selected based on current trends, quality and real-world wearability.
We regularly try on pieces ourselves—everything from best-selling jeans to designer shoes—and speak to external experts and fashion insiders, staying closely connected to what our readers are searching for. Our advice is grounded in expertise, and each and every buy we feature has to meet our exceptional taste standards—so you can feel confident in every recommendation.
Explore More: