Oscars best-dressed: 11 memorable red-carpet looks

After a whole season of virtual awards shows, the 2021 Oscars were held in person on Sunday, April 25 — with an IRL red carpet to match.

Gone were the designer pajamas and — gasp! — hoodies spotted during the Emmys and Golden Globes in recent months; ahead of the Academy Awards, nominees and presenters were warned that athleisure wasn’t going to cut it.

“We’re aiming for a fusion of Inspirational and Aspirational, which in actual words means formal is totally cool if you want to go there, but casual is really not,” read a letter sent around by the show’s producers in March.

As a result, Sunday’s red carpet marked a return to the glitz and glamour viewers are used to seeing during awards season, with Oscar gold emerging as the night’s dominant color trend and stars like Lakeith Stanfield and Colman Domingo wowing in eye-catching menswear.

Below, our best-dressed picks.