19 Runway Looks Vogue Editors Want to See on the 2026 Awards Season Red Carpet

Though the 2026 Oscars are still several weeks away, we’re already looking forward to the fashion. Given all the stylish nominees—Elle Fanning, Teyana Taylor, Renate Reinsve, and Jessie Buckley among them—we have high hopes for the red carpet.

So what can we expect—and what do we want—to see? All the spring 2026 couture shows in Paris certainly gave us a few ideas. Perhaps the no-holds-barred glamour of Jonathan Anderson’s Dior couture finale will shut down the carpet; or maybe one of our nominees will glide through in a breezy Chanel number.

Global fashion features director Nicole Phelps, for one, is dreaming of an Oscar for Chloé Zhao—and of what she’ll wear to collects it. “When Chloé Zhao accepts her Oscar for Hamnet (what a movie!), I’d like to see her in this Michael Rider for Celine cape top and trouser look,” Nicole says, referencing spring 2026, look 54. “Zhao isn’t a gown girl, but she is a boss lady, which is why this alternative black tie outfit is so full of potential for her.”

Meanwhile, Christian Allaire—Vogue’s senior fashion & style writer—knows exactly what he wants in a red carpet outfit after years of red carpet best dressed dispatches. “For me, a stellar red carpet look strikes the right balance between a super-clean silhouette and some sort of dazzle. This McQueen look has it both,” he says, nominating a fiery, hipbone-baring dress from Seán McGirr’s spring 2026 runway. “It’s extremely timeless and Old Hollywood, yet that intricate, tinsel-like fringing gives it instant wow-factor. It’s a bit edgy, dark, and romantic.”

Here, see what else Vogue editors want to see on the 2026 awards season red carpets, from fresh-off-the-runway couture to ready-to-wear standouts.