Oscars 2026: Rose Byrne, Zoe Saldaña and Damson Idris Top the Best-Dressed List

Lead: At the 98th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on March 10, 2026, a lively mix of historical silhouettes, vivid colors and high jewelry defined the red carpet. Stars including Rose Byrne, Zoe Saldaña and Damson Idris were singled out for standout looks that blended couture craft with contemporary taste. The most striking surprise was a revival of knee-length frock coats on men, while women favored pastels, bright hues and feather embellishments. The evening underscored how tailoring, couture techniques and high jewelry remain the red carpet’s chief signals of prestige.

Key Takeaways

• At least three men — Shaboozey, Damson Idris and Ethan Hawke — wore knee-length frock coats, a silhouette rooted in 18th–early 20th century tailoring but updated for modern red-carpet styling.
• Rose Byrne’s strapless Dior haute couture featured a 22.58-carat fancy yellow-brown “Desert” diamond by Taffin, highlighted as a central jewelry moment of the night.
• Zoe Saldaña wore a slim satin-and-lace Saint Laurent gown paired with Cartier’s Art En Équilibre Chapter III high-jewelry necklace (collection released late February 2026).
• Menswear trends included burgundy velvet and double-breasted construction — Chase Stokes wore a deep-red Dunhill velvet suit and an Omega 38mm Speedmaster in Sedna gold.
• Feathered gowns were prominent among women: Demi Moore, Teyana Taylor and Nicole Kidman each wore feather-embellished couture that emphasized movement and texture.
• High jewelry played a starring role: examples include Channing Tatum’s Tiffany & Co. brooch on Versace and Leonardo DiCaprio’s Boucheron Bee brooch paired with Dior.
• Lab-grown diamonds and sustainability notes appeared in styling choices — Odessa A’zion’s Pandora pieces highlighted 148 lab-grown diamonds totaling 54.95 carats; Shaboozey’s Campillo suit emphasized sustainability.

Background

Red-carpet dressing has long been a dialogue between tradition and reinvention: couture houses revisit archival references while stylists adapt historical lines to contemporary proportions. The frock coat — once a staple of formal menswear from the 18th century through the early 20th century — periodically recurs when designers and stylists favor elongated proportions and sculpted waists. On a High-visibility platform like the Oscars, such revivals are amplified and set talking points for the wider fashion calendar.

Couture craftsmanship and high jewelry have also regained prominence after several seasons that emphasized minimalism. Houses from Dior and Chanel to Saint Laurent and Givenchy used embroidery, feathers and extensive handwork to create looks intended for close-up television and red-carpet photography. Meanwhile, the jewelry houses supplied headline-grabbing stones and one-off pieces, which signal both rarity and the houses’ technical skill.

Main Event

Rose Byrne delivered a regal moment in a strapless Dior haute couture gown, whose floral embroidery was paired with Taffin jewels that included a 22.58-carat fancy yellow-brown pear-shaped “Desert” diamond. The combination of couture embroidery and a rare colored diamond provided an explicit example of how a single centerpiece gem can define a red-carpet narrative.

Zoe Saldaña opted for a slim Saint Laurent satin-and-lace gown that foregrounded Cartier high jewelry from the Art En Équilibre Chapter III collection. The necklace, released in late February 2026, anchored her look and illustrated the continuing collaboration between couture silhouettes and focused jewelry statements on the Oscars carpet.

On the menswear side, Damson Idris chose a romantic Prada evening suit with a navy double-satin coat and a distinctive brooch from his own Didris line: a 7.41-carat natural blue marquise diamond set with additional stones and engraved on the reverse with the inscription “F1.” Chase Stokes stood out in a burgundy Dunhill velvet suit paired with an Omega Sedna-gold Speedmaster on an alligator strap, while Timothée Chalamet’s double-breasted all-white Givenchy look reinforced the night’s tailored directions.

Feathered gowns were a through-line for several leading women. Demi Moore arrived in a strapless Gucci gown of black-to-green iridescent feathers; Teyana Taylor’s Chanel piece layered feathers with pearls and crystals and was accompanied by a Tiffany & Co. necklace with a center diamond exceeding 18 carats; Nicole Kidman’s powder-pink Chanel gown used feather gradients to sculpt the silhouette.

“It’s my first Oscars, I felt like I had to do it right.”

Shaboozey (artist, red carpet comment)

Analysis & Implications

The reappearance of frock coats signals a broader appetite for menswear that references historical tailoring while remaining wearable for modern celebrity culture. When several high-profile men adopt the same archival silhouette in one evening, stylists and retailers often accelerate similar offerings for seasonal collections and bespoke services. That dynamic can shift menswear retail faster than runway cycles alone.

For women’s fashion, the prevalence of pastels, bold color and statement ornamentation suggests a pivot away from the recent dominance of stark black gowns toward looks designed to register on camera and in print. Couture houses that commissioned extensive handwork, such as Louis Vuitton’s hand-embroidered, 600+ hour gown for Emma Stone, demonstrate that brands still invest high labor into singular red-carpet moments that bolster perceived value.

Jewelry choices — from one-off high-jewelry necklaces to brooches and lab-grown diamond statements — point to two concurrent trends: houses leveraging rare natural stones for marquee moments, and brands highlighting responsibly produced or lab-grown alternatives. The hybrid approach allows stylists to balance spectacle with growing consumer and industry interest in sustainability and traceability.

Comparison & Data

The table above catalogs visible trends and named exemplars from the evening. While not exhaustive, it highlights how a small number of repeated motifs — longer outerwear, feathers, and concentrated jewelry statements — produced a coherent visual language across multiple red-carpet arrivals. That coherence makes certain looks feel like part of a moment rather than isolated choices.

Reactions & Quotes

“The mix of historical tailoring and modern accessories created the night’s strongest visual through-lines.”

Red-carpet stylist (industry comment)

“High jewelry is the evening’s headline — houses are using unique stones to tell couture stories.”

Jewelry industry analyst (comment)

Observers on social platforms and industry commentators celebrated both the technical craft (hand embroidery, couture construction) and the jewelry statements, while some audience members noted the clothes’ television-friendly color choices. Photographers highlighted pieces that read well on camera — often the same gowns and jewels critics singled out.

Unconfirmed

• Whether all named brooches and high-jewelry pieces were on-loan or privately owned was not specified in the available reporting.
• Attribution of specific creative inspiration (for example, the Edith Head–Grace Kelly reference for Jessie Buckley’s look) was reported as observation and not independently verified by archival confirmation in this piece.
• The full roster of men who wore extended-length coats may be larger than the named examples; the exact count across all arrivals was not published.

Bottom Line

The Oscars 2026 red carpet combined archival references, couture craft and bold jewelry in a way that felt deliberately programmatic: designers and stylists emphasized looks that register on camera and in cultural conversation rather than blending into a monochrome trend. Menswear’s nod to frock coats and a renewed appetite for double-breasted tailoring suggest a season of elongated proportions and formal reinvention ahead.

For the wider market and fashion-watchers, expect immediate editorial traction for these motifs and, in the months after the ceremony, an uptick in bespoke commissions and brand storytelling centered on jewelry provenance and couture technique. The night reinforced the Oscars’ ongoing role as a catalyst for both style recycling and new directional signals.

Sources

• The Hollywood Reporter (entertainment media: event coverage and fashion reporting)