Oscars 2021: Best and worst red carpet outfits at the Academy Awards

Hollywood’s biggest names have stepped out to strut their stuff on the Oscars red carpet. Here are the best and worst outfits.

Plunging power suits, pandemic-inspired gloves, and daring cut-outs: Hollywood stars have turned heads at the Oscars.

Australian actor/producer Margot Robbie wore Chanel and debuted a new hair look – a Charlie’s Angels-esque whispy fringe – as she arrived at the Academy Awards’ new location of Union Station in downtown Los Angeles.

Styled by Kate Young, Robbie wore a metallic floral gown by the French fashion house, of which she is an ambassador, teamed with a Chanel clutch and makeup by Chanel makeup artist, Pati Dubroff.

Best Actress nominee Carey Mulligan, who stars in the Robbie-produced Promising Young Woman, dazzled in a glittering gold two-piece by Maison Valentino.

Margot Robbie wearing Chanel and debuting a new hairstyle at the Oscars. Picture: Getty Images

A casual wave on the red carpet. Picture: AFP

New hair, new Margot. Picture: Getty Images

The strapless outfit, which looked like an Oscar statue itself, featured a crop top-style silhouette at the front, with a high-waisted, flowing full gown on the bottom.

Best Original Song winner Tiara Thomas (Fight For You from Judas and the Black Messiah) wore a 70s-style white suit by Jovana Louis Benoit, with a low-cut collared bodice.

From the back … Carey Mulligan in Maison Valentino at the Oscars. Picture: AFP

Carey Mulligan with her husband, Marcus Mumford of the band Mumford & Sons. Picture: AFP

A dramatic entrance by Carey Mulligan, dressed as an actual Oscar. Picture: AFP

Best Actress nominee Carey Mulligan in Valentino. Picture: AFP

Best Original Song winner Tiara Thomas. Picture: AFP

Tiara Thomas’s diamond necklace was the star of the feathered outfit. Picture: Chris Pizzello / POOL / AFP

Flashing some skin, Zendaya wore Valentino. Picture: AFP

Never puts a foot wrong. Zendaya. Picture: AFP

Laura Dern in Oscar de la Renta. Picture: AFP

Purple reign Halle Berry in D&G. Picture: AFP

Halle Berry turned heads with a new bob-style haircut and bizarre half finge, while wearing a grape-coloured Dolce & Gabbana dress.

Dior-clad Australian actress Isla Fisher and her husband Sacah Baron Cohen (in a Ralph Lauren suit) were also on the red carpet but in Sydney where they have relocated to during the pandemic.

Sacha Baron Cohen in Ralph Lauren and Isla Fisher in Dior, watched the Oscars in Sydney. Picture: Getty Images

Mank star Amanda Seyfried was a standout in a red-hot Armani outfit, featuring a low-cut V-neckline.

The Best Supporting Actress nominee teamed the scarlet-coloured dress with a bold red lip and her hair in a low bun, with a sleek side-part.

Amanda Seyfried wearing Armani Prive. Picture: AFP

She’s red-y! Amanda Seyfried. Picture: AFP

Another red moment this time from Reese Witherspoon in Dior. Picture: Chris Pizzello / AFP

Regina King in Louis Vuitton. Picture: AFP

Bulgarian actress Maria Bakalova’s Louis Vuitton gown featured 100m of tulle. Picture: AFP

Colman Domingo’s neon Versace outfit – a blazer, matching shirt and trousers – featured 4500 Swarovski crystals and sequins, and gold buttons with the brand’s Medusa logo.

Welcome to the Oscars, 2021-style.

A hot pink moment from Euphoria star Colman Domingo in custom-made Versace. Picture: Chris Pizzello / POOL / AFP

Promising Young Woman director Emerald Fennell in Gucci. Picture: AFP

Wearing Gucci, Promising Young Woman director Emerald Fennell told E! her writing process involved “listening to Britney Spears and eating pizza out of a bin”.

When asked to describe her ruffled Gucci gown and the look she was going for, Fennell joked, “I am Susan, your pottery teacher who has a business opportunity for you that is absolutely not a pyramid scheme,” she joked.

Fennell, who directed the Margot Robbie-produced movie and played Camilla Parker-Bowles in the most recent season of The Crown, is nominated in the Best Director, Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay categories for Promising Young Woman.

Oscar nominee Steven Yeun, of Minari. Picture: AFP

One Night in Miami star Leslie Odom Jr. in a double-breasted Brioni suit with Cartier jewellery. Picture: AFP

A Black Panther ring worn by Leslie Odom Jr, an apparent tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman. Picture: AFP

Oscar nominee Glenn Close teamed Armani black pants with leather gloves and an ornately-beaded sapphire blue tunic for this year’s red carpet.

The 74-year-old, who received her eighth Oscar nomination for Hillbilly Elegy, said that should she win she has “a fantasy” of taking her statuette to the local library and coffee shop “so you can bring this world into every day life”, in a pre-show interview with E!

A pandemic-inspired Armani outfit from Glenn Close, who is nominated for Hillbilly Elegy. Picture: AFP

Glenn Close wore it all to the Oscars. Picture: AFP

H.E.R. who won Best Original Song for Fight For You, in Dundas. Picture: AFP

Celeste Waite in Gucci. Picture: AFP

Celeste had her Gucci heart in her hands. Picture: AFP

Nomadland director Chloe Zhao playfully paired a bone-coloured Hermes dress with plaits and white sneakers.

The bold outfit choice raised eyebrows with some after the award’s producers emailed guests last week to ban casual wear, telling attendees outfits should be “a fusion of inspiration and aspirational,” and added, “formal is totally cool if you want to go there, but casual is really not.”

Nomadland director Chloe Zhao. Picture: AFP

Lee Isaac Chung, of Minari, who is nominated for Best Director, and Valerie Chung. Picture: Chris Pizzello / POOL / AFP

Oscar nominee Vanessa Kirby, from Pieces of a Woman. Picture: AFP

Speaking to E!, Viola Davis said her Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom co-star, the late Chadwick Boseman, was “authenticity on steroids”.

“A lot of people enter this business because they want to be famous actors … he wanted to be an artist,” she said.

Viola Davis. Picture: AFP

Paul Raci who nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Sound of Metal. Picture: AFP

British-US director Martin Desmond Roe and US comedian Travon Free. Picture: AFP

Lil Rel Howery. Picture: Chris Pizzello-Pool/Getty Images

Versace, Versace! Ariana DeBose. Picture: AFP