At the 2026 Oscars, Red Carpet Style Goes Beyond the Tux

One thing’s for sure after the 2026 Oscars: black-tie attire is anything but these days. What was once a particularly rigid code of dress for awards shows, galas, and the like has evolved into something far more wide-ranging and expressive — and awards shows like the Oscars are all the better for it.

There was a time when what a man wore to an event like the Oscars was somewhat predetermined: it’d be a tux, it’d usually be black (sometimes navy, white, or even more rarely brown) and the success of it would come down to the finer details: proportion, shirt, tailoring, and maybe a great watch. Maybe it was the conservative nature of the dress code, historically speaking, and maybe it was the prevailing rigidity surrounding the way men were supposed to dress. These days things have — no other way to put it — chilled out substantially. The men of Hollywood aren’t afraid to get a little weird with it, soft with it, funky with it, and at this point seem like they’d rather do anything at all other than wear a black tuxedo with a white dress shirt. 

There is, first of all, a real abundance of black-on-black tuxes on red carpets these days. They showed out in a big way at the Oscars this year on stars like last year’s Best Actor winner Adrien Brody, Best Supporting Actor nominee Benicio Del Toro, and Heated Rivalry star Hudson Williams. It’s a popular combo that does a lot with a little — it makes for a bold look regardless of the cut or silhouette of the tux and sits just left enough of center to make a statement. 

Even more common is taking a non-traditional colour route. Thirty years ago a midnight blue tux felt like one of the boldest statements a guy could make at a black-tie event. These days? They’re colouring outside of the lines. Sinners breakout Miles Caton stunned on the red carpet in an Amiri tux decked out head to toe in burnt auburn. Last year’s Best Supporting Actor winner Kieran Culkin took a similar route with a burnt auburn jacket paired with a black shirt and pants. Felix Krammer of Frankenstein matched a slouchy brown suit with thick shoulderpads with an orange silk tie and dress shirt. And Timothée Chalamet, a man of the hour if there ever was one, called back to his 2018 Oscars fit with an all-white double-breasted suit by Givenchy. 

It doesn’t stop at colour, though — this year in Oscars menswear saw a pointed pivot away from even the most traditional trappings of a tuxedo — or, in some cases, a throwback to their earliest incarnations (marking a swerve in and of itself). Regarding the latter, Jacob Elordi took a hyper-traditional route by including a bold black waistcoat with his tux. Once a mainstay of formal dress, it’s fallen out of favour over the last century and is usually reserved for white-tie dress. Elordi — one of our best-dressed young stars–stood out not by eschewing tradition but by returning to it. Elsewhere, some of our other biggest stars took entirely non-traditional routes. Michael B. Jordan — hoping to bag his first Oscar this evening–took the red carpet in an all-black ensemble anchored by a stunning nehru jacket. His fellow nominee Ethan Hawke rocked a vest with a knee-length dress jacket. Pedro Pascal left the jacket (and mustache) at home, instead letting his look be drawn together with a massive floral garnish pinned to his chest.

With menswear swerving left and right, one might assume the days of the tuxedo on the red carpet could be over. But fear not — a few choice stars, namely host Conan O’Brian, Jesse Plemons, and Leonardo DiCaprio (a real contender for best-dressed in a perfectly-tailored black shawl-lapeled tuxedo) stood as a reminder that you still can’t go wrong with a look as classic as a black tux. Black tie dress is evolving, sure. We’re inclined to say that’s a good thing. But there’s room for experimental dress and the classics on the same red carpet, as the 2026 Oscars red carpet proved.

Feature image by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic (via Getty Images).