A sew above the rest: Top 10 looks from the 2025 US film awards season

JOHANNESBURG - With the Oscars taking place last Sunday, the 2025 US film awards season has finally ended, bringing a sigh of relief to entertainment journalists and content creators who have had to endure what was one of the messiest seasons in recent years (looking at you, Emilia Pérez).

The end of the season, however, also means that our eyeballs can finally get a break from all the barrage of formalwear. Don’t get me wrong, a lot of stars looked good this season, but, in the words of Aretha Franklin, most were serving “great gowns, beautiful gowns” and not much else. 

Despite this, there were a few standouts this season that took that great gown and put a little sauce on it, whether through styling or design choice, breaking through a sea “just… pretty” and making a splash that might even be worth talking in a few months.

So, without further ado, here are the top ten looks from the season’s big 3, the Oscars, the Screen-Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, and the Golden Globes:

TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET IN CHROME HEARTS 

Chalemet, who won the 2025 SAG award for best actor for his portrayal of Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown, had a pretty solid run on the carpet this season. Though most would cite his custom yellow Givenchy suit from the Oscars, I would argue that this black leather ensemble really took it for me. Monochrome is cute and all, but you really can't beat a black leather suit paired with a Brat green shirt.

ALTON MASON IN DOLCE & GABBANA 

I'll be real with you and admit that I went a little back on forth on whether to include Mason's outfit from the 2025 Golden Globes Awards because it isn't really what you'd expect to see from a man on a red carpet of this nature. However, I think it's because of that that I cannot ignore just how beautiful this outfit is. It could be that I'm a sucker for an all-black ensemble that has perhaps one too many silver accessories, but Mason truly proved that you don't have to wear a suit and tie to look dapper and expensive on an awards show carpet. Plus, I need that top with all of my life, and I'm being so serious.

DOJA CAT IN BALMAIN 

I admit that this is cheating because this is the gown Doja wore to Vanity Fair's Oscars after-party and not what she actually wore to the show's carpet, but there is no way I could exclude this from the list. Look at the material: her body's tea, the construction of the garment is perfect, the illusion of her naked body dripping in gold is breathtaking, and, as usual, that face is mugged down. I may be a bit of a hater for excluding the Oscars dress, but this gown makes her look like the award itself.

ANOK YAI IN MARNI 

A note to all the girls on the carpet: this is how you elevate what would otherwise be another "great gown". It's so simple because if you take the styling away, it's a pretty dress that looks beautiful on Yai's skin, but the inclusion of the black boa, the dainty necklace and the jet-black pixie cut takes the next level. And that face? My God!

KELTIE KNIGHT IN ANTONIOS COUTURE 

Listen, I may have absolutely no idea who Ms Knight is, but this ensemble is breathtaking. The gown is just so interesting to look at without it being haphazard or looking like she doesn't really belong to it. Is it a little bedazzled Handmaid's Tale in design? Yes. Does she look like the most elegant umbrella in the world? Also yes. But this is one of the most interesting designs on the carpet this season, and no one can tell me otherwise.

MICHELLLE YEOH IN BALENCIAGA 

The premier fashion auntie in Hollywood did not disappoint this season at all. Mother look gorgeous in this Black Swan-esque. With virtually no accessories, Yeoh was to make me audibly gasp in this Balenciaga number. She looks like the Evil Queen but I’d happily be used as her pawn.

ZENDAYA IN LOUIS VUITTON 

Listen ladies and gentlequeers, this is how you do simple old Hollywood glam without it looking kind of boring. The dress itself is, admittedly, nothing that breaks boundaries, but the colour and the exact-matching pump with that hair and Bvlgari necklace called me broke and I rejoiced in its beauty. Zendaya looks rich, she looks opulent, and she looks like a global phenom.

DEMI MOORE IN ARMANI PRIVÉ

As a staunch horror movie stan, The Substance was my favourite movie out of big hitters this awards season, and Moore was my pick for best actress. Though she might've missed the Oscar, Moore took home the Golden Globe in the best thing she has ever worn. This dress is so beautiful and sculptural and I could look at the material it's been made out of all day. The only styling choices I would've done differently would maybe to make sure the hair was always pushed back and throw on a cute little dainty choker, but otherwise, Moore looked like perfection.

BRETMAN ROCK IN ROBERT WUN 

Listen, I have no clue what Bretman was doing at the Oscars, but I am living. The internet personality and content creator is giving non-binary star realness in this Robert Wun number. I might have some bias because Robert Wun is currently in my top 3 favourite couture designers, but Bretman stuns on the carpet looking like a sexy warrior princess in what is one of the most sartorial looks at this season's carpet. The pleating, the draping, the layers, and that monochrome gold colour is just breathtaking. 

CYNTHIA ERIVO IN LOUIS VUITTON 

Was there any doubt that Ms Erivo was going to be anything other than number 1? Absolutely not. This beautifully-designed gown caps off Erivo's exceptional red carpet run for Wicked. She's Elphaba at her prime in this, the Wicked Witch that I'd let defy gravity and turn me into a flying monkey. It's a little weird and sculptural in design, but it's also grandiosity at it's finest and that's why it's sitting pretty at number 1.