Slits, sheer and swans: Most memorable fashion moments on the Oscars red carpet

Looks include Celine Dion's backward suit, Cher's Bob Mackie dress and Billy Porter's tuxedo gown.

ByRoshumba Williams OTRC logo
Sunday, February 25, 2024
Most memorable fashion moments on the Oscars red carpet
From Cher's sheer Bob Mackie dress to Billy Porter's tuxedo gown, stars have brought unforgettable looks to the Oscars red carpet for decades.

LOS ANGELES -- Stars can stand out on the Oscars red carpet for all the right and wrong reasons.

MORE: Take a look at the latest 2024 Oscars stories and videos

Looking forward to the stunning -- and the surprising -- fashion at the Academy Awards, supermodel and fashion expert Roshumba Williams shares her top 10 most memorable Oscars red carpet moments.

The most memorable Oscars red carpet moments:

10. Lady Gaga's yellow diamond, 2019

Lady Gaga attends the 91st Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood and Highland on Feb. 24, 2019. in Hollywood, California.
Dan MacMedan/Getty Images

Lady Gaga is an innovator who's blazed her own trail. It's fitting that she wore a one-of-a-kind 128-carat Tiffany yellow diamond to the 91st awards.

9. Spike Lee's Kobe suit, 2020

Spike Lee arrive at the Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

Spike Lee brought the love to the carpet in 2020. The director wore a Lakers-inspired purple and gold custom Gucci suit paired with high top Nikes as a tribute to the late basketball superstar Kobe Bryant.

8. Angelina Jolie's slit, 2012

Actor Angelina Jolie arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards held at Hollywood & Highland Centre on Feb. 26, 2012 in Hollywood, California.
Dan MacMedan/WireImage via Getty Images

Angelina Jolie always has a leg up when it comes to fashion, but at the 2012 Academy Awards, her leg was out. The actress wore a black Versace gown with a thigh-high slit. When she posed for the cameras, red carpet history was made.

7. Celine Dion's backward suit, 1999

Celine Dion wears Galliano to the 71st Academy Awards on March 20, 1999.
Evan Agostini/ImageDirect via Getty Images

Celine Dion's backward tuxedo suit from Dior by John Galliano and massive fedora is one of the most unforgettable looks of all time. This 1999 moment was unexpected, yet totally appreciated.

6. Matt Stone and Trey Parker's gowns

Matt Stone and Trey Parker arrive at the 72nd Academy Awards on March 25, 2000.
SGranitz/WireImage

Trey Parker and Matt Stone brought some comedy to the carpet in 2000. The creators of "South Park" walked the red carpet dressed like Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Lopez to make a statement without saying a word.

5. Lupita Nyong'o's stolen dress, 2015

In this Feb. 22, 2015 photo, actress Lupita Nyong'o arrives at the Oscars wearing a dress made of pearls at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

Lupita Nyongo's Calvin Klein gown, featuring more than 6,000 pearls, was a head turner at Oscars in 2015. But it's what happened off the carpet that makes it memorable. The dress was allegedly stolen from the actress's hotel room two days after the ceremony. It was found later that week at the same hotel.

4. Cher in Bob Mackie, 1988

Cher shows off both her Oscar and Bob Mackie black-sequined gown at the 60th Annual Academy Awards on April 12, 1988, in Los Angeles.
AP Photo/Lennox McLendon

Cher broke barriers at the Oscars in 1988. The iconic actress called on friend Bob Mackie to design this sheer black number. It looks like it brought her luck -- she won best actress for her "Moonstruck" performance that year.

3. Sharon Stone's button-down, 1998

Sharon Stone and Phil Bronstein attend the 1998 Academy Awards in Los Angeles.
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic via Getty Images

Sharon Stone sported a laid-back yet totally glam look to the 1998 ceremony. She wore a Gap button-down shirt pulled from the closet of (former) husband Phil Bronstein along with a lavender Vera Wang skirt. The result was casual, chic and classy.

2. Billy Porter's tuxedo gown, 2019

Billy Porter attends the 91st Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood and Highland on Feb. 24, 2019, in Hollywood, California.
Dan MacMedan/Getty Images

Fabulous and unapologetic, Billy Porter established the age of fashion fluidity on the carpet in 2019 with a custom Christian Siriano tuxedo gown.

1. Bjork's swan gown, 2001

Singer Bjork, wearing a Marjan Pejoski swan gown, arrives at the 73rd annual Academy Awards on March 25, 2001, in Los Angeles.
AP Photo/Michael Caulfield

For two decades, the Marjan Pejoski swan gown has inspired endless punchlines and parodies but became a pop culture phenomenon. Bjork has since said she's bewildered by the response to her 2001 red carpet get-up. "I was actually amazed at how many people thought I was serious. I didn't mean to cause a riot," the eccentric Icelandic singer later told the UK's Sunday Times.

Mark your calendar: March 27 is Oscar Sunday. Special "On The Red Carpet" coverage begins at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT and continues all day leading up to the 94th Academy Awards ceremony. After the last award is handed out, stay with "On The Red Carpet" for continuing coverage. Be sure to follow @OnTheRedCarpet on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok for all your Oscar news and information. Click here to download our CTV apps to watch "On The Red Carpet" wherever you stream.