Here’s the Runway Looks We Want to See During the 2025 Awards Season

The 2024-2025 awards season is already well underway, with the Governors and the Gothams easing us into a calendar jam-packed with statues and shmoozing. Take a breath now, folks, because the new year starts with a bang: the Golden Globes on January 5 will mark the start of a two-month dash to the finish line, ending with the Oscars on March 2.

Awards season fashion—especially for nominees—tends to be, well, snoozy. My colleagues and I agree that the smaller awards shows serve up the most exciting fashion, collectively, as risks feel lower stakes. To be fair, it you were nominated for an Oscar, you’d probably wear something safe and timeless, too. But when you’re at a luncheon in a tent the the middle of a big parking lot, you can afford to let loose a little bit.

The actors we’re expecting to make the rounds this season—Zendaya, Mikey Madison, Saoirse Ronan, Angelina Jolie, Emma Stone, Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Danielle Deadwyler (we could go on)—all know how to own the red carpet. So, please, fashion forces that be, we’re begging: no more boring awards show looks!

We’re so dedicated to this cause that we decided to pull some options ourselves. Consider some of the smaller designers like Christopher John Rogers, whose voluminous dresses make for a true showstopper, or the avant-garde Hodakova, who just took home the LVMH Prize. But we’re realists here, and we know that nominees tend to align with major fashion houses for marquee events. We love the sumptuous butter yellow Prada dress from the lauded spring 2025 collection, as well as the pink frayed georgette dress with silver embellishments from Seán McGirr’s Alexander McQueen.

While couture season is still ahead of us (watch this space!), we’ve got some recent runway picks that will carry us through the start of the 2025 awards season. See them here: