The devil works hard but Donatella Versace and Lady Gaga work harder

There was a time when The Oscars took clothes VERY seriously – a time when its organisers hosted an IRL fashion show to celebrate the year in costume design, and a time when Lizzy Gardiner took the red carpet in a dress that had been strung together from expired Amex Cards. All that showboating has waned over recent years – with most people either looking just fine or like they were perhaps going to prom – but the 2023 ceremony raised the stakes (ever so slightly). 

Much of this has to do with Donatella Versace, who put Lady Gaga in a drop-skirted, bum-baring gown that got its runway debut in Hollywood just three days prior. The devil works hard but Donatella works harder etc – lest we forget that it was a safety-pinned LBD of her own making that launched Liz Hurley’s career in the 90s. Where so many publications are lamenting the glory days of red carpet style – of an era when celebrities guided us through their “mind palace” without the hand of a stylist – this year’s attendees turned to runway-fresh designs to save themselves from appearing on a worst-dressed list. 

Hunter Schafer wore a feather bralette and a low-slung bias-cut skirt pilfered from Ludovic de Saint Sernin’s first-ever Ann Demeulemeester collection, Julia Garner wore Naomi Campbell’s closing look from the latest Off-White show, and Jessie Buckley wore one of those vampiric gowns from Rodarte’s AW23 collection – all of which came right off the runway, in some cases just days or weeks ago. Elsewhere, Florence Pugh dressed in Valentino couture and Danielle Deadwyler in a leopard-speckled Versace dress, while Saint Laurent fitted Austin Butler with a pussy bow blouse for the Vanity Fair afterparty. And though there’s nothing to be gained from pitting successful women against each other – Rihanna did wear custom Alaïa and it was quite something. 

Click through the gallery below to see the rest of the best from the 95th Academy Awards.