From Björk’s swan dress to Céline’s back-to-front tux: the most iconic Oscar red carpet looks

At the 2001 Oscars, Gladiator won best picture with Russell Crowe picking up best actor. But, if those facts might have faded to fodder for a pub quiz, the red carpet produced a moment of fashion legend – Björk wearing what is now known as “the swan dress”.

Made by the Macedonian designer Marjan Pejoski, the tutu skirt with the swan draped around the musician’s neck – and egg accessories – was panned. “It’s one of the dumbest things I’ve ever seen,” said the TV fashion critic Steven Cojocaru.

A quarter of a century later, Pejowski and Björk have been vindicated. The swan dress has its own Wikipedia page and has inspired tributes from RuPaul’s Drag Race to Rosalía. Here are seven other memorable Oscar outfits over the years.

Barbra Streisand, 1969

Barbra Streisand wears a sequined Arnold Scaasi bell-bottomed sheer pantsuit at the 41st Academy awards. Photograph: George Birch/AP

Streisand’s chiffon pyjama-style pantsuit made by Arnold Scaasi (who also dressed US first ladies) was largely see-through under the lights, and caused a sensation. When Scaasi died in 2015, Streisand wrote that he had “made many fabulous outfits for me over the years and unfortunately, only one of them stole the headlines … I was embarrassed but it sure was original at the time.”

Cher, 1986

Cher in eyecatching Bob Mackie at the 1986 Oscars. Photograph: Eugene Adebari/REX

Cher’s Bob Mackie outfit – bra top, acres of midriff, feathered headdress – was prompted by revenge. Miffed she wasn’t Oscar-nominated for her role in Mask, Cher wanted to make a statement. “As you can see, I did receive my Academy booklet on how to dress like a serious actress,” she quipped as she presented an award.

Sharon Stone, 1996

Sharon Stone 1996’s Oscars look came about by mistake. Photograph: Kevin.Mazur/WireImage

Sharon Stone’s $22 Gap polo neck is seen as a great example of high-low dressing. But, as she told Naomi Campbell in 2020, it came about because her dress was unexpectedly ruined when a delivery driver drove over it. Helped by the Basic Instinct costume designer Ellen Mirojnick, Stone put the look together using her “favourite clothes”. She revised the formula in 1998, wearing a white shirt with a satin skirt.

Céline Dion, 1999

Céline Dion’s John Galliano back-to-front tux was widely-lambasted at the time. Photograph: REX

Red carpet trousersuits weren’t common in 1999, especially worn with a back-to-front jacket. This John Galliano tux put Dion on worst-dressed lists. It’s now cited as a classic Oscars look. Speaking to People in 2017, Dion called it ahead of its time. “If I would do this today, it would work,” she said.

Michelle Williams, 2006

Michelle Williams wearing Vera Wang on the red carpet in 2006. Photograph: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

While not as experimental as other outfits on this list, Williams’ Vera Wang dress is a favourite of fashion. It could be responsible for other actors – Zendaya in 2021, Timothée Chalamet last year – continuing the “mustard and ketchup” look of wearing yellow on a red carpet.

Angelina Jolie, 2012

Angelina Jolie’s much-memed dress and pose at the 84th Academy awards in 2012. Photograph: Amy Sancetta/AP

Jolie’s dress – or, rather, her right leg – coincided with the start of meme culture. It multiplied across social media, with parody accounts on X and lots of dated discourse about her body. Talking about the viral moment, she played it down. “I heard something, but I didn’t pay any attention,” she told HuffPost.

Billy Porter, 2019

Billy Porter in a Christian Siriano tuxedo gown. Photograph: Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

The number of gender-non-conforming red carpet looks has, happily, grown in recent years. Porter’s gown was key. Writing for Vogue about the look, Porter said he wanted to be “a walking piece of political art every time I show up”.