Fashion
A Pre-Oscars Update Of Our Awards Season’s Best-Dressed Power Ranking
Who will come out on top when all is said and done?
Spring is in hand, and we have a better sense of who might take home an Oscar after the Actor Awards last night. Well, we have a sense of who might win Best Actress (Jessie Buckley), as the other awards are up in the air. It’s shaking out to be a race to the end that has more question marks than exclamation points, and the fun is reflected in kind on the red carpets as well.
Long gone are the days of celebrities, say, buying several dresses for promotional junkets and calling on designers for one special gown. No: We are in the midst of a custom-clothing boon, with A-listers signaling both their immaculate taste and ties to specific luxury houses with bespoke clothing for all manner of events, from the smallest of dinners all the way to the Oscars. With more dresses and suits than we know what to do with in the rearview mirror, we’re taking stock of the best-dressed girls and guys before we head into the final stretches of awards season. Disclaimer: Some of our favorite dressers have ended their awards-season runs (not everyone can be Academy Award nominated every year, after all) but deserve to remain on our ranking for their commitment to excellent. Without further ado, see where the stars fall before Holllywood’s biggest night on Mar. 15.
10Tessa Thompson
Previous ranking: 8
Just like that weird Taylor Swift lyric about Charlie Puth, we declared Tessa Thompson should be a bigger artist. She was the best-dressed star at Tory Burch’s New York Fashion Week show, and stylist Karla Welch snagged this Collina Strada dress off the Fall/Winter 2026 runway for Thompson to make her own at the Indie Spirit Awards three days after it walked. She hasn’t been to much else after this red carpet, but she is holding down her spot on our list due to her looking so d*mn cool all the time.
09Renate Reinsve
Previous ranking: 4
The Norwegian actor best known for her work with Joachim Trier is back with a tear-jerking performance in Sentimental Value — which we think will get her an Oscar nom — and more delicious fashion moments. Her relationship with Louis Vuitton means lots of custom dresses that are works of architecture in themselves, and she’s become something of a bastion of minimalism. Case in point: This custom black velvet moment with a massive cutout and simple, not-distracting Boucheron necklace. The hair is also capital-H Hot.
08Jacob Elordi
Previous ranking: 9
Not only is Elordi a first-time Oscar nominee with his role as the monster in Frankenstein, he’s also launching his blockbuster-hunk era as Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights. He’s a Bottega Veneta baddie through and through, wearing almost exclusively Louise Trotter’s dapper designs, and it’s virtually impossible for him to look bad in anything.
07Jessie Buckley
Previous ranking: 10
Jessie Buckley is the frontrunner for the Best Actress Oscar, thanks to her devastating, once-in-a-generation performance in Hamnet. She’s also got our fashion hearts in a bind, thanks to her stylist Danielle Goldberg and the way they tackle red carpets. It’s uncomplicated beauty with an edge, just like this sculptural, wrap-around bespoke Balenciaga gown paired with Jessica McCormack jewels.
06Emma Stone
Previous ranking: 6
Stone is now in the all-time greats conversation (if she wasn’t already previously) with her fifth acting nomination at the Oscars. She’s also climbing the ranks of our power ranking with her straightforward take on red carpets this season, with nary a necklace in sight. For the Actor Awards, she channeled a bit of ‘90s red-carpet dressing with a slinky cardigan from Louis Vuitton.
05Eva Victor
Previous ranking: 3
Victor’s directorial debut, Sorry, Baby, is one of NYLON’s favorite films of the year, and their streamlined approach to dressing has found its fit with both Loewe and stylist Danielle Goldberg. They won big at the Film Independent Spirit Awards, scooping Best Screenplay (and Naomi Ackie took home Best Supporting Performance for her turn in Victor’s movie), and winning the carpet with this archival Donna Karan gray. They haven’t popped out elsewhere since this look, but they deserve to stay high up on our list for impeccable execution throughout the season.
04Timothée Chalamet
Previous ranking: 7
The man behind the most viral movie marketing of the year knows his fashion. As his buzzcut grows out, he’s sticking to the same double-breasted silhouette for most of his public outings, many of which are made by Givenchy by Sarah Burton. For the Actor Awards, however, he switched up designers and went for Prada — but kept on-theme with a double-breasted suit jacket.
03Chase Infiniti
Previous ranking: 5
One of the prettiest faces of the moment, and of the awards season, is a Louis Vuitton girl through and through. While her Golden Globes sculptural Vuitton moment made our best-dressed list, she’s delighted at every turn with fashion that is playful and dramatic. The custom Louis Vuitton dress she wore at the Actor Awards was still in line with her architectural playfulness, but brought an old-school Jazz Age edge that felt youthful.
02Elle Fanning
Previous ranking: 2
Fanning, like Reinsve, delivers a grounded, striking performance in Sentimental Value, and also knows how important humanity is in her fashion. She’s previously debuted Sarah Burton’s Givenchy at the Oscars and has ties to brands like Coach and Gucci, but she’s not afraid to play the field, something that works in her favor. All her looks have an air of Old Hollywood about them, but she brings them into the 21st century with modern glam and just the right touch of accessories — just like this classic sweetheart-neckline Elie Saab with a scarlet lip.
01Teyana Taylor
Previous ranking: 1
Nobody is having more fun shapeshifting for every premiere, event, and award ceremony this season than Taylor. She goes from vixen to fashion darling and back again, showing off her infamous washboard abs — and genuine love for fashion. Her body was the inspiration for this sculpted, anatomical Thom Browne, which fit within an inch of her life and brought the most drama out of anyone at the Actor Awards. It’s going to be tough to dethrone her top position, which she’s held since the Golden Globes.
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