Hidden meanings behind the most glamorous Oscars gowns: How celebs used the red carpet to send secret messages – including Margot Robbie’s ‘protest’

The Oscars is the biggest event of the year in the movie calendar, but it’s also all about fashion as the stars step out on the red carpet dressed to impress in glamorous attire.

However, many outfits hold meaning beyond what meets the eye, with stars purposefully conveying messages through fashion statements.

Elsewhere, eagle-eyed fans have derived meaning from A-listers and their choice of gown.

For instance, Margot Robbie ditched the typical pink attire that she’s been wearing on repeat while promoting her role in Barbie in favour of a black dress – a move some have claimed is a reaction to her Oscar nomination snub.

Other stars, such as Emma Stone and Carey Mulligan, have openly declared the sweet meaning behind their glamorous dresses for the event – and how they link to the characters they portray on screen.

Here, FEMAIL reveals the A-Listers who conveyed hidden meanings through their fashion choices at the the 96th Annual Academy Awards. 

MARGOT ROBBIE 

Margot Robbie sent social media into a frenzy after she arrived at the Oscars 2024 red carpet in Los Angeles wearing an unexpected outfit.

The Australian beauty displayed her trim physique in a shimmery, structured Versace gown with help from stylist Andrew Mukamal. The metal-mesh gown is from the fashion house’s Fall 2024 collection.

It featured a subtly sloped neckline and flattering draping at the hips, creating a gorgeous hourglass silhouette. 

But it was the colour of Margot’s glamorous Versace gown that led to speculation online.   

The 33-year-old actress — whose hit film Barbie received eight nominations — ended her run of pink awards show looks in the strapless black gown.

The colour choice led some to believe that Margot was commenting on her lack of nominations through the colour. 

Despite Barbie’s impressive eight nominations, Robbie was not nominated for Best Actress, while Greta Gerwig was not nominated for Best Director.

America Ferrera was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film, with pundits saying her character’s impassioned speech on feminism sealed the deal.

Barbie’s other nominations include Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor for Ryan Gosling and two nods for Best Song — including Gosling’s tune I’m Just Ken.

In a decision that sparked controversy, Margot was notably absent from the slew of nominations.

Social media users have claimed that Robbie ditching her typical Barbie-esque red carpet look in favour for a black outfit choice represents her ‘mourning the award she didn’t get’.

EMMA STONE 

It was a successful night for Emma Stone, who took home the prize for Best Actress following her role in Poor Things.

But before the big win, Emma, 35, wowed in pastel green and showed off her stunning frame in a peplum detail Louis Vuitton gown with floral brocade on the red carpet.

Fans of Poor Things will know a bit about its main character, Bella Baxter, a young woman explored in the tale after being brought back to life by an unorthodox scientist, Dr Goodwin Baxter.

With a special nod to the character that secured her one of the most significant accolades in her career, Emma dedicated her dress to Bella.

In an interview with British Vogue, Petra Flannery, Emma’s stylist said: ‘We wanted to keep Emma, Emma but show her affinity with the character and Bella’s spirit.’

The peplum feature nods to Bella Baxter’s love of ruffles, as created by costume designer Holly Waddington.

After winning the award, the Cruella star said she was ‘in awe’ of all of the team behind the surreal comedy, where she plays a woman who is reanimated and implanted with the brain of a baby.

Emma looked visibly pleased with herself as she entered the Winners’ Room at the ceremony.

The actress fought off competition from Maestro actress Carey Mulligan, Rye Lane’s Vivian Oparah, Anatomy of a Fall actress Sandra Huller and former American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino – who had been nominated for her role in The Color Purple – for the gong.

LILY GLADSTONE 

Best Actress nominee, Lily Gladstone, looked sensational as she arrived at the 2024 Oscars on Sunday.

Gladstone, 37, was the first Native American nominated for Best Actress for her performance in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon – and was the favourite in the category thanks to her wins at the Golden Globes and SAG Awards.

She missed out on the award to Emma Stone. However, the 37-year-old made a touching nod to her Indigenous community through her attire.

The Killers of the Flower Moon actress radiated glamour on the red carpet in a midnight blue strapless gown with a flowing train.

While the dress, which featured a lavender trim and white floral detail across the skirt, was stunning in itself, it was the designer that created meaning behind the look.

Lily, whose heritage includes Blackfeet and Nez Perce roots, and her stylist, Jason Rembert, chose to bring a design that represents Native American culture to cinema’s most prestigious event.

The custom look was made in collaboration by Gucci’s creative director Sabato De Sarno and Indigenous artist Joe Big Mountain comes from the Mohawk, Cree & Comanche Nation.

Talking of the collaboration, Sabato De Sarno told Vogue: ‘Lily is an incredible talent. Her selecting Gucci to dress her for this historic moment is an honour.’

‘Creating a dress that conveys beauty and illuminates Indigenous designers and artistry, passed down through generations, is powerful; The collaboration with Joe and [his wife] Sunshine in Italy was a special moment for me.’

It comes after Lily was the first Indigenous actor to win a Golden Globe for Best Actress in the ceremony’s 81-year history.

Gladstone said: ‘This is a historic one, and it doesn’t belong to just me,’ Gladstone said in English, after opening their acceptance speech speaking in the Blackfeet language.

‘I’m holding it with all of my beautiful sisters in the film and my mother [in the film], Tantoo Cardinal.’

SYDNEY SWEENEY 

Sydney Sweeny caused waves online for emulating Marilyn Monroe’s iconic sex appeal as she posed on the red carpet at the 2024 Vanity Fair Oscar Party.

However, it wasn’t just Marilyn who Sydney took inspiration from on Sunday, but also Angelina Jolie. 

In a touching nod to Angelina’s style prowess, the Euphoria star, 26, replicated her 76th Annual Academy Awards look from 2004. 

The Old Hollywood Marc Bouwer cream gown cemented Angelina’s status as a fashion icon in the early 2000s.

Some 20 years later, Sydney followed Angelina’s footsteps and modelled the glamorous plunging halter neckline at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills yesterday evening.

Sydney recreated the bombshell look with the gown, matching shawl and accessories with a similar collection of layered pendant necklaces.

With the help of hair and makeup, Sydney managed to add her own touch to the archival look.

The White Lotus alum previously rocked her usual long, blonde tresses when she recently hosted Saturday Night Live.

For the annual Vanity Fair Oscar Party, Sydney changed it up and showcased a darker honey-blonde colour and her shoulder-length bob styled in bouncy waves.

The style differed from Angelina’s 2004 red carpet look, which saw the then 29-year-old’s long locks run loose.

With the incredible look, Sydney joined Angelina, 48, and the many A-list bombshells recognized for their red carpet outfits and graced many best-dressed lists.

ARIANA GRANDE 

The singer’s extravagant pink look might seem like a stylish choice merely intended to wow, but film fanatics will know that her attire paid tribute to the Wicked character Glinda.

Ariana Grande took to the prestigious event in a billowing pink gown – as she walked her first red carpet in four years.

After turning up to the red carpet late, the 30-year-old turned heads wearing a fitted, strapless pink gown from Giambattista Valli Haute Couture.

The dress contained ruched material as well as billowing fabric that flowed down into a train behind her for a dramatic flare.

It was a choice that channelled her character – Glinda the Good Fairy – in the upcoming adaptation of Wicked.

The singer – who recently revealed that she ‘cried herself to sleep’ following split from ex Dalton Gomez – is set to portray the beautiful witch with an adoration for all things pink.

The film is based on Gregory Maguire’s best selling novel and the hit Broadway musical adaptation, which debuted in 2003 starring Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel.

It is a prequel to The Wizard of Oz in which the storyline proceeds with Dorothy and details the one-time friendship between the Elphaba and Glinda characters.

It also stars Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible and Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, as well as Bowen Yang, Adam James, Keala Settle and Bronwyn James.

CAREY MULLIGAN 

If she’s not behind the camera showcasing her skills as an actress, she’s gracing the red carpet in tasteful looks. 

But Carey Mulligan put a lot of extra thought into the gown she wore to Sunday’s Academy Awards, where she was nominated in the Best Actress category.

The actress wowed in a black and white Balenciaga dress accessorised with opera gloves and Boucheron jewels for her red carpet moment at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

And speaking to Vogue, she revealed how the carefully chosen dress was a tribute to her character in her nominated movie Maestro.

‘I think it’s my favourite dress I’ve ever worn,’ Carey gushed, explaining that the dress is a precise recreation of a 1951 gown from the Balenciaga archives. 

The date is significant as 1951 also happens to be the year that Felicia Montealegre and Leonard Bernstein got married, making the dress a fitting tribute to the woman Carey plays in the movie.

Carey said it was her stylist Andrew Mukamal who pitched the idea to Balenciaga, marking the first time the fashion house has remade a look from its archives for the red carpet.

Carey’s Oscar gown was the pinnacle of her vintage awards season wardrobe, having dazzled in recreations from Schiaparelli and Dior at the Golden Globes and BAFTAs respectively.

And she was delighted with the vintage cut of her Balenciaga gown, describing it as ‘the most incredible shape and so classic, but feels really modern. It just feels amazing to wear, and not constrictive; I’m not going to be sitting there holding my breath for three hours.’

The star was happy her glam squad could accompany her to the red carpet, with the group arriving in a party bus, so Carey could remain upright and not crease the gown, with tunes blasting.

Her arrival was in stark contrast to the 2021 ceremony, the last Oscars red carpet she walked, with Covid restrictions meaning she was only permitted to bring her husband Marcus Mumford.

‘[He] was in charge of everything: he had to make sure the dress was laid out nicely; he was texting my hair and make-up team. He was incredibly stressed,’ she told Vogue.

Carey lost out on the Best Actress Oscar on Sunday night to Emma Stone, who scooped the win for her role in Poor Things.