The history of Oscars fashion

Sunday night was the 97th annual Academy Awards! Some of us tune in for the actual awards and some of us tune in for the red carpet. 

The Oscars have been alive and well for nine decades now. The first “award” show was in 1929, which was actually just a small dinner party. The awards were given out months in advance.

In 1953, the Oscars became accessible to all of us at home by televising the award show in the United States and Canada, later becoming accessible to more and more countries. 

It’s safe to say that the Academy Awards is probably one of the most-anticipated nights for spectacular fashion, behind the Met Gala. The history of the Oscars is extensive and has always been a night of glamour. 

Let’s take a quick peek at some of the most notable looks from Oscars past.

The 1950s is when we started to get the iconic award looks we still remember today. Marylin Monroe, Audrey Hepburn and Olivia de Havilland graced the ceremonies with beautiful 50s glam dresses that were modest and classic. This year, Elle Fanning wore a Givenchy dress similar to Audrey Hepburn’s Givenchy dress that she wore to her first Oscars.

Leading Actress winner Mikey Madison wore a recreation of a 1956 Dior gown that took more than 400 hours to recreate.

The 1960s is when we got outfits that showcased more abstract creativity, like Elizabeth Taylor’s 1961 Dior full-skirt gown. The 1960s is when we also got Barbra Streisand’s iconic sparkly trouser suit. 

True to 90s fashion, the Oscar outfits of the 1990s decade were slinky, sleek and sparkly. 

Some Oscar outfits were there to make a statement—Lizzy Gardiner wore a dress made of gold American Express cards in 1995 to accept her Oscar award. Gardiner made the worst-dressed list of the awards that year. Her stylists said back that Gardiner’s dress was a statement on class and social capital.

Natalie Portman took some inspiration and wore a cape to the 2020 Oscars that had the names of snubbed female directors. 

From the 2010s on, we get a mix on the carpet, which is a real treat. We see celebrities call back to stars in the past like Elle Fanning and Mikey Madison this year. We see stars take a fun and creative path with their looks for the night, like Lupita Nyong’o’s gold fringe 2022 look or Gemma Chan's 2019 bubblegum pink dress.

While the night is meant to celebrate the accomplishments of film, there's a big hats off to celebrity's stylist teams and design teams who make these looks come to life.

Written by Macy Berendsen

Cover photo from Vogue