PICTURE THIS: you’re a celebrity who’s just wrapped all the major film festivals from Cannes to Venice. You have also finished your press tour for one film, and yet you’re about to embark on another. Now it’s October, and awards season will soon start again. What else do you possibly have left to wear? If you’re one of the biggest names in Hollywood, you leverage your star power to pull from the spring/summer 2026 collections for the Academy Museum Gala in Los Angeles.
At the ‘Met Gala of the West Coast’, as it’s been dubbed, celebrities opted for fashion first seen on the runways just weeks ago. Naomi Watts wore the new feathered sack dress from Balenciaga by Pierpaolo Piccioli. Greta Lee and Mikey Madison, two of young Hollywood’s brightest and newly minted Christian Dior ambassadors, wore creations from Jonathan Anderson. Kaia Gerber in a white lace dress was one of the first to wear Sarah Burton’s Givenchy.
Designer debut wares weren’t the only showstoppers; pulls from the Giorgio Armani archives were granted for the likes of Dakota Fanning and Emma Chamberlain. As for the Australian designers on the list, Tamara Ralph dressed Cara Delevigne in a beaded halter neck dress, and Rachel Zegler in a sculptural hot pink dress. Those with an experimental streak came in clutch here, too, with Kim Kardashian in a skin-toned Maison Margiela corseted and draped dress with a matching all-head face covering (her make-up was by Mario Dedivanovic, if you were wondering), Rebecca Hall in a painted bodice dress by Thom Browne, and Jenna Ortega in a leaf-like breastplate by Grace Ling.
The night, of course, was to honour the luminaries of the Hollywood set, with some attendees adhering to the ball gown formalities of Hollywood glamour: Maude Apatow in Prada, Zoey Deutch in Zac Posen, Chase Infiniti in Louis Vuitton, Lucy Liu in Miss Sohee, and more.
Below, see all the blockbuster looks from the evening.
Related: 11 runway highlights from SS26 to shape your wardrobe next season
All the best looks from the Academy Museum Gala 2025 red carpet
Charli XCX
Wearing Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello.
Elle Fanning
Wearing Balenciaga and Cartier jewellery.
Cara Delevigne
Wearing Tamara Ralph.
Zoe Saldaña
Wearing Saint Laurent.
Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco
Gomez is wearing Armani Privé.
Sydney Sweeney
Wearing Armani Privé and Anabela Chan jewellery.
Hailey Bieber
Wearing Schiaparelli and Tiffany & Co. jewellery.
Kendall Jenner
Wearing The Row.
Maude Apatow
Wearing Prada.
Tessa Thompson
Wearing Balenciaga.
Cristin Milioti
Wearing Lanvin.
Greta Lee
Wearing Christian Dior by Jonathan Anderson.
Ayo Edebiri
Wearing Chanel by Matthieu Blazy.
Addison Rae
Wearing Versace.
Zoey Deutch
Wearing Zac Posen.
Rebecca Hall
Wearing Thom Browne.
Dakota Fanning
Wearing archival Giorgio Armani spring/summer 1996.
Chase Infiniti
Wearing Louis Vuitton.
Mikey Madison
Wearing Christian Dior by Jonathan Anderson.
HAIM
Wearing Louis Vuitton.
Lucy Liu
Wearing Miss Sohee.
Emma Chamberlain
Wearing archival Giorgio Armani spring/summer 1999.
Rachel Zegler
Wearing Tamara Ralph.
Monica Babaro
Wearing Christian Dior by Jonathan Anderson.
Kim Kardashian
Wearing Maison Margiela haute couture.
Kaia Gerber
Wearing Givenchy by Sarah Burton.
Jenna Ortega
Wearing Grace Ling.
Amanda Seyfried
Wearing Prada and Tiffany & Co. jewellery.
Viola Davis
Wearing Gucci.
Penélope Cruz
Wearing Chanel.
Kate Hudson
Wearing Stella McCartney.
Laura Dern
Wearing Miu Miu.
Emily Ratajkowski
Wearing Jean Paul Gaultier.
Olivia Rodrigo
Wearing Armani Privé.
America Ferrera
Wearing Rodarte.
Lupita Nyong’o
Wearing Chanel.
Naomi Watts
Wearing Balenciaga by Pier Paolo Piccioli.
Demi Moore
Wearing Prada and Cartier jewellery.
Michelle Monaghan
Wearing Carolina Herrera.
Listen to the latest episode of How BAZAAR on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and below…
Listen here on Spotify
Listen here on Apple Podcasts