TLDR
At the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Vanity Fair Oscars Party saw Kate Hudson, Kylie Jenner, Emilie Livingston, and more swap traditional ceremony gowns for revealing, body-confident looks that treated the afterparty as a second runway.
From Ballgowns to Body Suits
The Oscars red carpet still delivers its familiar fantasy. Floor-sweeping skirts, glittering embellishment, and carefully constructed silhouettes signaled respect for the institution. Then the cameras moved a few miles, and the same A-list names arrived at the Vanity Fair bash with a completely different agenda.
Kate Hudson led the evolution. She left behind a mint green gown that framed her figure with peplum detailing and stepped into a sleek black look cut open at the midriff, turning her abs into the focal point.
Nearby, Canadian dancer Emilie Livingston arrived on husband Jeff Goldblum’s arm in what was essentially a stage costume, a skimpy bodysuit worn with sheer tights and pointed heels that framed her dancer’s physique rather than hiding it.
Emilie was not alone in treating the carpet like a performance space. Amelia Gray Hamlin chose a backless dress with dramatic side cutouts that traced every line of her frame. Norwegian actress Renate Reinsve shifted from a simple red strapless gown into an almost-sheer black dress that skimmed the edge of coverage. Ciara arrived in an ultra-low, backless look that highlighted her figure from every angle and flirted with the risk of a wardrobe mishap.
Kylie Jenner made her only red carpet appearance of the night at the party, skipping the main Oscars step-and-repeat but arriving at Vanity Fair alongside Timothee Chalamet in a sculpted, bust-forward gown that has become part of her signature image. Heidi Klum traded an old Hollywood gold beaded dress for a far more revealing party look. Rita Ora chose a mesh corset with a silky wrap skirt and an oversized hat that felt more avant-garde than black-tie. Lizzo showed off her recent weight loss in a dramatic lace design with a plunging neckline, while Anya Taylor-Joy stripped her styling back to a body suit, tights, and a statement headpiece that read like couture lingerie.
How Afterparties Rewrite Red Carpet Rules
The Oscars once told a single story in sequins and silk. Today, there are two acts. First comes the traditional red carpet, still orchestrated with studios, stylists, and awards voters in mind. Then comes the afterparty, where the same stars can recast themselves in bolder, younger, and sometimes riskier fashion narratives.
According to People, “All the Fashion from the 2023 Vanity Fair Oscar Party” captured how the legendary bash has evolved into its own runway. Social feeds now light up as strongly for the afterparty arrivals as they do for the ceremony itself. That shift gives celebrities a second chance to control the conversation, whether it is about a post-baby body, a new romance, or a career chapter that no longer fits the classic princess gown.
For Kate Hudson, a cutout column telegraphed a confident, modern leading lady rather than a nostalgia figure from early-2000s rom-coms. For Kylie Jenner, an afterparty-only appearance with Timothee Chalamet kept the focus on her couple branding and signature curves instead of awards politics. Lizzo’s lace look read as a visual headline on her wellness journey, while Emilie Livingston’s bodysuit reminded Hollywood that dancer-athlete bodies have their own kind of glamour.
The Vanity Fair carpet is no longer an afterthought. It is where stars experiment with how much they want to reveal, how far they are willing to push their image, and how they want their names to live in Monday morning fashion history.
Do you think the real Oscars fashion story now happens at the afterparties, or do the traditional ceremony gowns still define how you remember the night?
