The velvet ropes have parted and the award season is in full swing, but the grandest spectacle of them all, the Oscars 2025, is still looming like the last laugh. With Golden glory on the line, Hollywood’s finest are caught in a high-stakes sprint, their hearts racing faster than a Hollywood plot twist. But before they clutch that tiny golden man, there is another battlefield to conquer–the red carpet. This is where legends are made, where fashion risks either skyrocket into Pinterest royalty or crash land into meme infamy. So, the question that remains: is there a dress code this time?

If so, will the A-listers play safe or prey for the sartorial fences?

Award seasons are all about the red-carpet flex. But despite being the grandest night of Tinseltown, the Oscars have a much less grandeur of a dressing policy, to say the least. The Academy Awards is considered a formal or black-tie event, meaning the men are supposed to grace the ceremony in tuxedos and the women are expected to wear formal gowns. However, Hollywood is no goody-two-shoes when it comes to rules, and several A-listers have stood in dapper defiance.

Throughout Oscar's history, time and again, stars have defied the dress code, including Emma Stone, who stepped out in a Louis Vuitton red blazer tied with a pink sash and black pants in 2018. The very next year, Awkwafina turned heads in DSQUARED2’s metallic suit. Chloe Zhao even bagged the trophy home in a relaxed Hermes dress, swapping the high heels for trainers instead. In 2016, Alicia Vikander dropped jaws to the floor in a Louis Vuitton prom-ready dress despite the calls for a formal get-up.

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The glamor-drenched time capsule of the Oscars has had a front-row seat to the rule-makers and breakers of the industry. But in 2024? The Academy showed elegance in defiance.

The Oscars is celebrated as the highest honor of an actor’s career, and it is only justified if they deliver their finest while receiving the golden statuette, even if it breaks a rule or two. As Hollywood's glitterati steps up to the sartorial chess match in a few, here is a recap of stars who held their heads high in fashionable opposition in 2024. Billie Eilish, an Oscar winner last year, went rogue on the red carpet in a monochromatic Chanel plaid skirt, a black blazer, and a classic button-down.

Ariana Grande popped up in a bubble of pink, taking a break from the traditional formal in her voluminous and extravagant Giambattista Vali gown. Besides them, Andrea Riseborough stepped out in a long-sleeved tartan print gown by Loewe, a visible departure from the Oscar’s rule book. And lastly, Erika Alexander chose a Christian Siriano dress for her first Oscar attendance, with a skirt juggling neon hues of pink, purple, and green tulle. It is unclear if the Oscars 2025 will have its fair share of rulebreakers, but all eyes are on the event for the answers.

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Did you know about the Academy Awards dress code? Let us know in the comments below!