Best Dressed at the 87th Academy Awards

It’s that time of year again. The red carpet is laid out, the stars arrive in their dazzling limousines and of course the glitz and glam of it all! The Academy Awards has once again glued us to our screens, keeping us Award Season junkies satiated as we watch our favourite starlets glide down in their most astounding gowns (most of the time). Forget the actual award ceremony (but, that actually matters to us as well) the red carpet is where fashion critics and writers dish out the dirt, rate the dresses and tag your ensemble Haute or Not! It’s in a league all of its own and all bets are off when it comes to picking our favourite gowns for the evening. We just love the pomp and pageantry of it all!

The standard suspects and our favourites at red carpet events, Julianne Moore in custom Chanel Haute Couture designed by Karl Lagerfeld, Emma Stone in a citrus, beaded Elie Saab couture number and Cate Blanchett in a statement necklace — all make the BEST dressed list. Shockingly, celebrities didn’t all play it safe at Hollywood’s biggest night. Perhaps tired of the mermaid gowns, caped dresses and sequined columns that frequently parade down the carpet, some of the biggest names in the industry decided to mix it up a little.

Last year might have been Lupita Nyong’o's year, but she sustained her sartorial supremacy as one of the best dressed on the 87th Annual Academy Awards red carpet in custom Calvin Klein Collection. Holy mother of pearls! The gorgeous custom gown created by Francisco Costa featured cascading strands of 6,000 pearls and was paired with Chopard jewels. For shoes, she wore Nicholas Kirkwood.

Rita Ora’s striking cut gown is absolutely a showstopper, the midnight-blue colour is dazzling, and that silvery peroxide 'do has won us over.

Cate Blanchett transforms this elegant-but-somewhat-forgettable black dress thanks to a stunner of a turquoise Tiffany & Co necklace. Her Maison Margiela dress - with is heavy velvet and frayed sleeves - is actually stunning, but we're all about the huge semi-precious rocks around her neck. She’s just timeless. A serious statement necklace that adds a bold pop of colour.

Anna Kendrick wowed the crowd in a custom pink Thakoon gown. Margot Robbie, too, stole the crowd’s attention early in the night in a plunging Saint Laurent dress and a statement Van Cleef & Arpels necklace made in the 1930s for the Duchess of Windsor.

Naomi Watts added a dose of high fashion glamour in an unconventional Armani Privé gown paired with effortlessly un-coiffed hair.

Julianne Moore may have won an Oscar but this custom-made Chanel makes her a winner in the fashion department as well! Proving that the milky-skinned can most certainly get away with white, this sequin-shard-encrusted number makes our favourite redhead look (besides Emma Stone) look like a modern-day goddess/ 1920s flapper. We adore this look.

Meryl Streep may as well be an Oscar - she's had a mammoth 19 nominations after all. The Academy should just dip her in gold and that’s that. But Streep went for a sharp blazer today which she paired with a silky blouse, high-waisted skirt (with a slight Angie-style split) and statement belt. So classic, sophisticated and the epitome of Meryl Streep.

You can always count on Marion Cotillard to make things interesting (and not to everyone’s satisfaction): Her voluminous Dior Haute Couture gown, which she paired with Chopard jewels, was a remarkable contrast to the silkier, more body fitting gowns that dominated the carpet. We are a bit obsessed with white dresses because just look at how crisp and remarkable this Dior Haute Couture creation is on Marion Cotillard!

Jennifer Lopez + Elie Saab = a red carpet dream. We love her glowing skin and stunning gown crafted to her body. Jlo definitely had a princess moment on the red carpet twirling around in a beige beaded poofy dress. And we love the sleeked back hairdo. It's about time Jennifer Lopez had a princess moment! The Oscars is arguably the biggest red carpet, ever, and I'm never mad at a shimmering ballgown. Her clutch is from Salvatore Ferragamo.

Emma Stone looked beautiful as she did some sashaying down the red carpet in this lime green/chartreuse Elie Saab sequin gown ... and we adore it! The sequin detailing looks like a leaf through a microscope, that peach lippie is a brave choice and her shoes are to die for.

Red wasn’t just reserved for just carpet; many of the best looks of the night picked up the effervescent hue. Dakota Johnson chose a crimson Saint Laurent dress for her first major red carpet appearance after the 50 Shades of Grey opening, paired with a lustrous pony tail.

Dakota's slinky, sexy Saint Laurent gown is one of the best red carpet looks we've seen from the French fashion house in quite some time and the easy hair and simple accessories keep the look effortless.

Rosamund Pike also selected a red gown, wearing a Givenchy number with textured floral motif, her best choice by far for the awards show season. Rosamund Pike was clearly leaving the best for last this awards season, as this red Givenchy dress is the absolute pinnacle of her red carpet appearances to date. It’s pure sophistication but also so different.

The detailing is spectacular, that curved neckline suits her so well and the touch of lighter red around the waist gives her a beautiful hourglass shape. We completely understand why the entire world goes gaga over a striking hourglass silhouette!

Jamie Chung's Yanina Couture dress is certainly upping the glamour ante, and we actually kind of love it. It looks like something is exploding across her chest, but she's owning it. (The key to the success of this look is that it's well lined and there's no flesh flashing underneath all the sparkle). So classy.

White and neutral tones continued to dominate the final red carpet of the season, with Zoe Saldana opting for a classic old Hollywood glamour look, in a blush pink Atelier Versace gown and a Harry Winston diamond drop necklace. Mental note: Zoe Saldana gave birth to twins less than three months ago. ONLY THREE MONTHS AGO. After nine-odd weeks of twice the filthy nappies and sleepless nights, she could have walked down the red carpet in garbage bag and we'd have given her a round of applause.

by: Adeline Tan