Oscars 2025: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo channel “Wicked” characters

NEW YORK (AP) — Ariana Grande did her Glinda proud in a pale pink stunner, and her “Wicked” bestie Cynthia Erivo did Elphaba proud in deep forest green on the Oscars carpet as high glam took over Sunday. Others went for bold red, classic black and pops of pink.

Grande wore a look from the Schiaparelli spring-summer 2025 collection. It was a perfect Glinda ode with no straps and a structured skirt that fell into airy pleats. Erivo, always a fashion darling, wore custom Louis Vuitton with a high triangular collar and huge shoulders, her signature long nails the usual on-point complement.

Metallics also had a strong showing in body-con looks: Demi Moore in sexy silver custom Giorgio Armani Privé and Mindy Kaling in a silver gown with chunky embellishment among them. Emma Stone also went for slinky silver. Felicity Jones was in steel gray worthy of her film, “The Brutalist.” And Selena Gomez was a bombshell in a Ralph Lauren look of full crystals in metallic pink.

Lupita Nyong’o, a fashion “it” girl from her start, wore white custom Chanel with more than 22,000 pearls.

And the men? It was a custom Givenchy soft yellow trouser and short jacket leather combo for Timothée Chalamet, never afraid to go in his own fashion direction. Jeff Goldblum added a floral arrangement to his off-white tuxedo jacket lapel. Orchids adorned the “Wicked” star’s Prada look. Goldblum walked the Prada runway in 2022.

Color trends: Red, red and more red

Red endured at the Oscars as a strong trend. Among walkers wearing the hue: Zoe Saldaña chose a deep burgundy strapless tiered look by Saint Laurent and Storm Reid wore a bright shortie dress with a long cape.

Others stuck to black, including Marlee Matlin in Yara Shoemaker Couture and Coco Jones in sexy Coach, a custom look using vintage fabric. Yasmin Finney also chose black, peaking out from tall black feathers attached to the top of her dress. Fernanda Torres, the “I’m Still Here” star, stood out in body-skimming black feathers. The look was Chanel Haute Couture.

Elle Fanning, meanwhile, was the first person to don Sarah Burton’s Givenchy. It was a classic Hollywood white gown with a sweetheart neckline and black belt with long tails.

Julianne Hough kicked things off in an elegant light beige ethereal look straight off the Christian Dior spring 2025 runway.

Joan Chen also went fairy-like in green chartreuse, an off-shoulder number from the Elie Saab resort 2025 collection.

Some celebs added messaging to ensembles

Swedish singer and actor Kayo Shekoni lifted up her black heel to reveal the words “free Congo” on the red carpet, advocating for the conflict-ridden African nation.

“Conclave” writer Peter Straughan showed his support for Ukraine with a Ukrainian flag pin accent on his tuxedo.

“Just to say, let’s not turn our backs on Ukraine,” he told Variety’s Marc Malkin.

The pin carries extra significance after a tense meeting unfolded between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance on Friday.

The team behind best documentary nominee “Porcelain War,” the story of Ukrainian artists who trade their paintbrushes for guns to fight against the Russian invasion, also sported Ukrainian flag pins.

“The Brutalist” actor Guy Pearce showed up wearing a “FREE PALESTINE” pin featuring a white dove and a gold branch. The award show comes as Israel stopped the entry of all food and other supplies into Gaza on Sunday. Pearce, who has expressed his support throughout the awards season with various pins, said “it’s the least we can do.””I’m just always on the case of trying to recognize Palestine and it having as much support as it possibly can because it’s what it absolutely needs.

How stars have dressed this awards season

Mikey Madison, Moore, Chalamet, Grande and Erivo had a lot of red carpet wow momentum heading into the Oscars.

The 97th Oscars come less than two months after the devastating Los Angeles fires subdued carpet dressing for a time. As the city moves into rebuild mode, stars have been upping their fashion games heading into the biggest awards night of the season.

Some are notable for playing it glam but safe.

Like Margot Robbie’s Barbie pink, Grande has been mostly sticking to a far paler hue, her signature and an homage to her “Wicked” good witch. Castmate Erivo has always taken fashion risks. She ditched her Elphaba black for last week’s Screen Actors Guild awards, opting for a silver Givenchy look with a high shaggy collar worthy of her bad witch role.

Chalamet has been all over the place on carpet dressing as he navigates his Bob Dylan attention from “A Complete Unknown.” At the SAGs, he married a bright brat green button-up shirt from Chrome Hearts with a shiny black leather suit and a bolo tie as he continues to channel the real-life icon he plays.

Madison, a new fashion darling, was among several stars to go vintage at the recent dinner for Oscar nominees. The star of “Anora” wore a dark blue velvet gown by Bill Blass from 1987. She collected a BAFTA award earlier this month in a custom Prada in ivory, accessorizing with a long matching stole and a vintage Tiffany & Co. diamond necklace.

She also went Hollywood bombshell at the SAGs with a strapless silver Louis Vuitton look with a large pleated bow at the waist.

She’s been working with stylist Jamie Mizrahi, who has dressed Adele and Jennifer Lawrence, among many other celebs.
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James Pollard contributed to this story.
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For full coverage of this year’s Oscars, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/academy-awards

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