Oscars 2019: pink ladies rule the red carpet as Gaga wears rare jewel

Lady Gaga's Alexander McQueen Oscars gown may not have been a show-stopper akin to her 2010 MTV Video Music Awards "meat dress". But to criticise her dress is to miss the point entirely: it was all about her necklace.

Lady Gaga arrives on the red carpet at the 91st Academy Awards.Credit: Invision/AP

Gaga, nominated for her role in A Star is Born, wearing the 128.54-carat yellow Tiffany Diamond, became only the third woman in history and the first since Audrey Hepburn in 1961 to wear the jewel.

Weighing 25 grams, the stone was discovered in South Africa in 1877, and, according to a Tiffany spokeswoman, is priceless.

Reed Krakoff, Tiffany & Co.'s chief artistic officer, said Gaga was a perfect choice to wear the stone, given her reputation as "the ultimate creator, innovator and rule breaker".

Although there were few rule breakers on the Oscars red carpet, Pose star Billy Porter created one of the highlights of the night when he stepped out in a Christian Siriano "tuxedo dress".

According to reports, the full overskirt was detachable for the ceremony but was set to come back for the after-parties.

Bigger was also better when it came to two other trends of the red caret: ruffles and pink.

From cotton candy on country singer Kacey Musgraves to shocking fuschia on Helen Mirren and Angela Bassett, pink frocks were the choice of women of all size, age and colour.

The best example was from Crazy Rich Asians star Gemma Chan, whose billowing Valentino trapeze gown had a handy but oh-so-practical feature: pockets.

So why all the pink? After last year's Golden Globes "black-out" and the dominance of white at the 2018 Oscars, perhaps it was a statement of femininity, or love.

Billy Porter arrives at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.Credit: Invision/AP

And let's not forget the men, who, as well as Porter, stood out in a series of embellished and gender-agnostic looks, starting with Chadwick Boseman in palazzo pants and a sequinned jacket with a train.

Singer Adam Lambert also stood out with eyeliner that was almost as exaggerated as his Alexander McQueen shirt cuffs.

Speaking of exaggerated, one of the most contentious looks of the night was Emma Stone's Louis Vuitton honeycomb gown, which marked a return to red carpet form for the actress but attracted some unfavourable comments on social media, likening her to an ice-cream cone.

Return to form ... Emma Stone in Louis Vuitton.Credit: AP

And for the stars who stood out (honourable mentions also to actresses Regina King and Emilia Clarke, and curvy supermodel Ashley Graham, who's heading to Australia next month), there were a handful of notable absentees.

Margot Robbie, Nicole Kidman and Emily Blunt missing in action. And while Robbie's no-show left a Chanel-shaped hole in the red carpet, the recently departed Karl Lagerfeld was still represented in sartorial spirit thanks to Tessa Thompson's black tiered gown.

But the accessory of the night possibly went to Aquaman star Jason Momoa, who completed his blush-pink velvet Fendi suit with a scrunchie, worn around his wrist, that was reportedly designed by Lagerfeld himself.