CNN —
The red carpet at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre shimmered on Sunday, as the stars arrived at the Oscars in a flurry of sequins, sparkles and striking metallic gowns.
Lupita Nyong’o’s Armani Privé dress, Gabrielle Union’s bedazzled Carolina Herrera number and Michelle Yeoh’s custom Balenciaga gown were among the bedazzled looks on display during an elegant — if somewhat unadventurous — evening of red-carpet fashion. (Indeed, a fair number of attendees opted for monochrome black, white or black-and-white ensembles.)
Elsewhere, “Barbie” actor America Ferrera gave the metallic trend a pop of color in a pink chainmail design by Atelier Versace, while co-star Margot Robbie took a rare break from Barbie-pink in an equally glistening black Versace dress. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande also opted for color-coded dressing, with the former’s emerald-green leather Louis Vuitton dress and the latter’s pillowy pink custom Giambattista Valli gown nodding to their roles in the forthcoming movie adaptation of “Wicked.”
This awards season has provided plenty of florals, cut-outs and sheer gowns, but the Oscars heralded a new theme altogether: mermaid chic.
Sunday’s red carpet was awash with gowns channeling scallops and shells, from Anya Taylor-Joy’s Christian Dior Haute Couture gown, inspired by Botticelli’s “Birth of Venus,” to Best Actress nominee Carey Mulligan’s custom Balenciaga look featuring an elegant mermaid skirt. Elsewhere, Emma Stone wowed in a shell-inspired custom Louis Vuitton dress with a flared peplum waist, and Hailee Steinfeld looked ethereal in a sea foam green Elie Saab Couture design.
The evening’s menswear was relatively pared back, on what is usually the most formal of Hollywood red carpets (though that didn’t stop Simu Liu and “Young Royals” star Omar Rudberg from turning up shirtless). Even actors known for colorful suiting like Colman Domingo and Ryan Gosling, who arrived in Louis Vuitton and Gucci, respectively, stuck to a largely black palette, though many accessorized with broaches, bracelets and pins. Gosling did, however, make the change into a hot-pink number for his performance of the Best Original Song-nominated “I’m Just Ken” during the ceremony.
Ramy Youssef, Mark Ruffalo, Mahershala Ali and Finneas meanwhile used their lapels to call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. They were joined by a handful of other attendees — including Billie Eilish, Ava DuVernay and Quannah Chasinghorse — wearing red pins as part of the Artists4Ceasefire campaign.
Scroll down to see the best looks from the 96th Academy Awards.
CNN’s Alex Rees, Christy Choi and Jacqui Palumbo contributed to this story.
