Decoding the secret meanings behind the A list’s best red-carpet dresses: As the Oscars loom, LAURA CRAIK ​reveals how the savagely competitive world of styling is a hotbed of politics, power and rivalries

When Margot Robbie wore a series of Chanel gowns during her Barbie press tour, some fans felt the looks weren’t a good fit with her image, and a tongue-in-cheek ‘Free Margot’ movement was born. A-list stylist Elliot Garnaut even dubbed her the worst-dressed star in Hollywood, adding someone at Chanel ‘obviously hates her’.

Her stylist, Andrew Mukamal, might disagree. Robbie – then under contract to Chanel for an undisclosed seven-figure sum – was obliged to wear the label, her outfits dictated by a mix of her own taste, her stylist’s judgment and Chanel’s stipulations. Welcome to the secret politics of red-carpet dressing, where fashion houses, A-listers and powerful stylists rule – though not, perhaps, as autonomously as each of them would wish.

Dressing Hollywood film stars has become fashion’s most important marketing tool. It works both ways. In 2026, sartorial success for an actress is, arguably, just as significant as winning an Oscar. Of course, fashion and film have always been linked. In the 1950s and 60s, Hollywood icons including Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly transformed the red carpet into a stage for couture, Hepburn pairing with Hubert de Givenchy and Kelly with costume designer Edith Head to create iconic, era-defining looks. Today a red-carpet appearance can reach millions in minutes.

For the actress, a well-chosen gown confirms her star power and personal branding. For the designer, it’s about global exposure – and driving sales. Notable examples at the Oscars include Gwyneth Paltrow’s sugar-pink Ralph Lauren gown in 1999, Julia Roberts’ vintage black-and-white Valentino gown in 2001, and Angelina Jolie’s black Versace dress in 2012, its thigh-high split generating countless #AngelinasRightLeg memes.

‘Unlike a fashion show, which is a trade show to present collections to an industry, the red carpet is the ultimate platform for fashion as a personal expression,’ explains Daniel Marks, a PR and brand strategist who has worked with Donatella Versace for more than 30 years. ‘Red-carpet fashion is about creating magic.’

These mutually beneficial arrangements are now measurable. Since 2024, The Hollywood Reporter and US-based data firm Launchmetrics has produced the Red Carpet Power Rankings. This offers AI-driven insights into the brands that generate the most impact over awards season: an algorithm assigns a monetary value to every post, social-media interaction and editorial story in a bid to determine brand influence and put a value on red-carpet placements. At the 2026 Golden Globes last month, it found Chanel ‘won’ the red carpet, generating $12 million in MIV (media impact value) by dressing Selena Gomez, Rose Byrne, Maya Rudolph and Ayo Edebiri. Second was Dior with $11.9 million, and third Giorgio Armani with $9.3 million.

With stakes this high, no effort or expense is spared in the pursuit of harnessing the ‘magic’. While sums are never disclosed, the biggest deals run into six or seven figures. As well as having a VIP team liaise between designer, talent and stylist, brands have talent teams assiduously courting the hottest names.

This year, the buzz is around Jessie Buckley, 36, the Irish actress riding high thanks to her Golden Globe-winning, Oscar-nominated turn in Hamnet. Buckley achieved critical recognition before she found fame, and fashion houses love that authenticity. Her team, including her stylist, could pitch her not as an ephemeral ‘celeb’ but as a long-term investment; an actress with staying power and artistic credibility. Once an actress is on a designer’s radar, the courtship process begins gradually. An archive piece might be loaned for a low-profile film festival. If it generates positive press and momentum builds, the relationship formalises. If, like Buckley, the actress is nominated for awards, the fashion house starts a charm offensive, offering a custom gown and, very occasionally, global exclusivity so she is the only star wearing that label at an event. By now, the actress has become a brand asset. Rather than merely dressing her, a designer is aligning with what she represents culturally as well as sartorially. The culmination of this is a brand ambassadorship, at which point she is put under contract and paid. These arrangements can last a long time. Charlize Theron, for instance, has been a Dior ambassador for over 11 years.

Hollywood being Hollywood, there’s a hierarchy. At the top are legends such as Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman and Cate Blanchett, who are so well loved they’ll gain coverage simply by attending. Next come A-listers including Zendaya, Margot Robbie, Emma Stone and Jennifer Lawrence. And every award season brings new faces. Last year, designers clamoured to dress Mikey Madison, 26, who won the Best Actress Oscar for Anora (and the fashion Oscar went to… Dior, whose custom gown she wore). This year, as well as Buckley, there’s Teyana Taylor, 35, Best Supporting Actress Oscar nominee for One Battle After Another, who has already proved her fashion mettle with the Schiaparelli gown she wore to the Globes. A daring choice designed by the house’s creative director Daniel Roseberry, the black halterneck dress featured a bold back detail that became its defining moment – a diamanté thong shrewdly chosen to go viral on social media. Which it duly did, helped by her ‘Wait till you see my party in the back!’ quip to the audience.

There’s a hierarchy with the stylists, too, and due to social media, many are famous in their own right. Not only have their day rates increased (the top fees are believed to be in the mid five figures); the most powerful names are also being paid directly by brands, allegedly on retainers in the region of £180,000.

Many would say they deserve it. Cate Blanchett wouldn’t look quite so fabulous without her stylist, Elizabeth Stewart. Likewise Zendaya – dressed by super stylist Law Roach or, as he calls himself, an ‘image architect’.

In truth, managing endless wardrobe crises and giant egos is a tough gig. ‘You don’t just pick a dress, job done,’ I’m told by a British stylist who moved to LA nine years ago.

‘I have to figure out which designers will lend, balance that with which designers my clients want to wear, then work out which samples are available. There’s often only one of each look, and it has to be shared with everyone, from magazines like Vogue to VIPs. Even if the piece is available, it has to be made to fit. There are a lot of variables.’

You may be wondering why a star can’t just buy a dress. At the 2014 Golden Globes, Hayden Panettierre, then starring in the TV show Nashville, bought her Tom Ford dress at a cost of $10,000. But celebrities serve as walking advertisements for luxury fashion brands, and A-lister Naomi Watts was Tom Ford’s muse at this event, so Panettiere’s move was considered a faux pas and negative headlines ensued.

So, who will ‘win’ the fashion Oscars this year? Few in the industry would bet against Jessie Buckley wearing Dior again, as she did to the Globes. Similarly, Teyana Taylor is likely to wear Schiaparelli again (she also made a splash at the label’s couture show in Paris last month). But as with the Oscar awards themselves, anything can happen on the night.