The Actor Awards Got More Than a Name Change, but a Whole Fashion Upgrade

The Actor Awards upped their fashion game this year. Was the Elle magazine partnership to thank for it? Milan Fashion Week offered plenty of takeaways, including strong opinions on Demna’s Gucci-maxxing. The next Netflix binge for fashion obsessives should be “The Art of Sarah.” And Stetson teams up with beloved L.A. brand The Great. Inside the collaboration kick off at West Hollywood hotspot Marvito with Kerry Washington, Rachel Bilson, Rumer Willis and more.

Actor Awards Up Their Fashion Game

The Actor Awards and its red carpet have long played second fiddle (or even fifth or sixth) to the Globes, Oscars, Grammys and Emmys. But for the first time this year, they had a fashion partner — Elle magazine — and a dress code: Reimagining Hollywood Glamour from the 1920s and ’30s. So how did it pan out?

The SAG-AFTRA partnership with the Hearst-owned title was billed as a way to “elevate fashion as a central part of the show’s creative expression,” Jon Brockett, showrunner and executive producer of The Actor Awards, said when the collaboration was announced. “It’s an opportunity to align the red carpet, the show and the culture around it into a single, cohesive moment.”

Elle sponsored the Elle Actors Rising event last weekend and an awards after-party but did not have a presence during the televised red carpet coverage or the show itself, which begs the question: what was the point?

The 1920s and ’30s theme prompted a joke during the telecast from Sterling K. Brown, who said, “With all that’s going on in the world tonight, we thought we’d bring you back to a happier time, the Great Depression.” But Elle was not mentioned.

Nevertheless, the fashion was more elevated, with a noticeably theatrical flavor to many of the looks. That element of role-playing was refreshing and seemed appropriate for an awards show honoring actors.

Setting the tone was lovable red carpet cut-up “Hacks” star Megan Stalter, playing the Old Hollywood bombshell with newly blonde locks, a leopard gown, fur stole, sunglasses and a cigarette, natch.

Teyana Taylor also put on a show with her daughter (or stylist, as she joked), Rue, who stole everyone’s hearts when she knelt down to adjust the train on her mom’s stunning Thom Browne trompe l’oeil “nude” corset gown.

Divas Being Divas

Grande dame Demi Moore was ready for the “Moulin Rouge” in her bird-like Schiaparelli gown, straight off the house’s Paris couture runway with a dramatic tulle tail feather. Special mention goes to Gwyneth Paltrow in black lace Givenchy and Parker Posey in powder-pink, marabou feather-trimmed Gucci — with matching pink eyeshadow.

Balenciaga in the Spotlight

New Dior and new Chanel have grabbed a lot of attention and dressing credits this awards season. Which is why I was so happy to see Balenciaga in the fashion spotlight at the Actor Awards, dressing Jessie Buckley, Sarah Pidgeon and Yerin Ha so beautifully.

At Valentino, where he was the sole creative director for eight years until 2024, Piccioli ushered a grand simplicity into fashion, along with a remarkable sense of color, mega volumes and drama. He carried that over to Balenciaga and to the looks worn Sunday night. Pidgeon’s petal-pink silk gazar balloon gown was a welcome hint of spring, while Buckley’s veiled bustier dress with white silk gazar flourish brought award-winning drama. Ha’s white silk fringe-embroidered crop top was modern and joyful when paired with black pants.

Breakthrough Performance

Speaking of texture and all-out kineticism, Odessa A’Zion, the breakout star of “Marty Supreme” and “I Love L.A.,” nailed it with a multicolored crystal-fringe Giorgio Armani Privé jumpsuit that matched her quirky character on screen and off.

All Sides

We’ve seen breast cleavage and butt cleavage, but at the Actor Awards, side cleavage entered the chat. Exhibit A: Kristen Wiig, who has never looked better, in a daring Christian Cowan black silk gown with sides scooped out. Li Jun Li’s side-slit red sequin gown by British label Aadnevik had playful tulle bows at the bare hips, while Michelle Williams’ pale pink, crystal-studded Prada gown had a more demure, apron-like look.

Character Study

Chase Infiniti had another hit Louis Vuitton moment. The “One Battle After Another” star, who has been wearing custom designs by Nicolas Ghesquière all season, channeled the Jazz Age with her spectacular, figure-hugging, hand-knit, crystallized mermaid gown — complete with one of the best accessories of the night, a matching headpiece.

Razzle Dazzle

Connor Storrie rocked the jewelry trend of the moment, a statement necklace, wearing a Tiffany Victoria mixed-cluster choker, shirtless, with his sleek Saint Laurent suit. He must love the look — he wore a similar Tiffany necklace the night before during his “Saturday Night Live” monologue.

Scene Stealer

And finally, Ethan Hawke was a scene stealer in a delightfully costume-y Dior black velvet waistcoat with Brandenburg embroidery, white silk shirt and black silk tuxedo pants. At the beginning of the broadcast, who could pay attention to Kate Hudson sharing the backstory of her first acting role with the best-dressed Hawke swishing a glass of brown liquor in the chair next to her? Actors will be actors — cheers to that.

Gucci-Maxxing in Milan

The Fall 2026 Milan runway season featured three major designer debuts and several strong takeaways for future dressing, but the main event was Demna’s Gucci.

The former Balenciaga designer took the moment so seriously that Gucci took out full-page ads in The New York Times and other outlets explaining his creative process leading up to the monumentally important collection. (A little much? Perhaps. But the stakes are high for Kering Group’s cash cow, which has been bleeding.)

In sum, Demna’s research led him to understand that Gucci is many things (“a superbrand, a person, a culture”), but above all else, at least in my reading, Gucci is “an emotion.”

This collection certainly prompted plenty of that, generating intense social media reactions, with critics deriding it for being too cheap-looking, too reverential, too Y2K, and on and on.

The show did not have the lush, cinematic seduction of Tom Ford’s day, but it brought some of his iconic pieces into the now, alongside Demna’s always-keen interpretations of what people actually wear on the street every day — good-looking jeans, track pants, trench coats and leather jackets.

The vibe was sexy, but for the 2020s digital-first, slightly sleazy, looksmaxxing era, with satiny suiting, pec-popping latex T-shirts, ultra-low-rise pants, second-skin dresses and more leaving little to the imagination.

The clothes may not scream luxury in the way we’re used to seeing, but they did make you feel something, and that’s more than Gucci has done in a while.

Prada’s Artful Pragmatism

More than a feeling, the stellar Prada collection designed by Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons was a prescription for dressing.

The setup was this — 15 models walked four times each, showing multiple looks created with the same pieces, shedding layer after layer, as a woman does over the course of a day — and a life. You can see how it worked by looking at Bella Hadid pictured above.

Considered on their own, the pieces were totally desirable, mixing sport, prep, glam, and color in the way only Prada can, with an added loveworn element in the rips and stains throughout. Plus, there were a million styling ideas to try with your existing wardrobe. A treat for the eyes all the way around.

Welcome to Fend-ior

For those missing the pragmatism of Maria Grazia Chiuri’s Dior, she’s brought it to her new gig at Fendi. Her debut collection was nearly all black, not-too-fussy, not-too-fashion, just wearable and elegant.

She showed at least one of her Dior signatures: a sheer black lace full skirt, and put her stamp on Fendi’s famous fur with a bohemian twist. And of course, there were Fendi baguettes galore.

Bringing Back That Marni Funk

The cult of Marni has been restored by new designer Meryll Rogge. In her debut collection, she resurrected the artsy-craftsy Italian chic that made the brand a fashion darling in the early Aughts, but filtered it through a young, sporty lens. Time to get that funky jewelry back out.

Armani Through a Female Gaze

Silvana Armani’s first collection as chief designer since her uncle Giorgio Armani’s death carried over his timeless spirit, but with a lighter touch in the styling and accessories, giving the brand new currency and putting it in great stead to compete with The Row, Toteme and other quiet-luxury leaders that have dominated the fashion conversation as of late.

Your Next Netflix Fashion Binge

Status, artifice, counterfeit luxury, and economic disparity intersect in “The Art of Sarah,” which has already rocketed to the top of Netflix’s worldwide rankings for a non-English series and should be the next binge for fashion obsessives.

The South Korean mystery thriller series centers around Sarah Kim (Shin Hye-sun), a con woman who creates a fraudulent luxury handbag brand, Boudoir, and the investigation into her murder, led by detective Park Mu-gyeong (played by the very attractive Lee Jun-hyuk).

Kim’s life unfolds over eight episodes, which follow her through multiple constructed identities. As Mok Ga-hui, she works as a salesperson at a luxury boutique (it resembles Prada), without the dignity of bathroom breaks. She falls into debt when she has to take one, and a shoplifter strikes.

That leads her down the road of reselling designer bags from employee sample sales, turning to prostitution, and more, until she creates the identity of luxury executive Sarah Kim, using social media and rumors to fabricate a century-old backstory for her brand, including a British royal warrant.

But the goods are actually made in China and finished in Korea, which is not so far from the truth of some of the most prestigious European luxury brands, which finish bags in Italy or France but make them elsewhere.

Kim succeeds by employing the psychology of real-world luxury brands, too — limiting access to product, drawing huge lines outside her store, and burning excess stock.

The show’s Korean title is “Lady Doir,” and throughout, real Hermès Birkins and Lady Dior bags — or what appear to be — confer status on the high-society characters, while glimpses of luxury storefronts set the scene.

It must be said, though, that the Boudoir bags themselves are gaudy and not very attractive, which could even be by design, because if you spin a good enough story around them and they are carried by the right people, does it really matter? A question to ponder as fashion month continues in Paris.

Stetson x The Great Launch a Cute Collaboration

It was a match made in Americana. Beloved L.A. fashion brand The Great has created a new capsule collection with OG western wear and hat maker Stetson, and it’s a good one.

The Stetson x The Great lineup of 25 womenswear and accessories styles includes embroidered Western shirts, skirts and shirt dresses; a great riding cardigan; baby blue and red suede floral cowboy boots;  fab Western belts with sculptural silver buckles, and yes, a terrific cowboy hat, all $595 or less.

To celebrate, The Great designers Emily Current and Meritt Elliott gathered friends of the brand — and dressed them in the new collection — for a fun dinner Wednesday night at Marvito in West Hollywood, where tables were set with The Great x Stetson leather coasters; margaritas, ceviche and tacos were on the menu, and everyone was rocking the cowgirl look in their own individual way.

“This is tremendously meaningful to us. Emily and I started our business two-and-a-half decades ago and Stetson was on our mood board,” said Elliott. “We also acknowledge that it’s incredibly meaningful for a heritage brand to collaborate with a woman-owned brand. We are not at fashion week making a big splash but I think this kind of thing really changes the landscape of fashion because it’s what people wear as they move in the world.”

“I grew up in a small town and we had a lot of agriculture and horses and boot and tack shops and Stetson was the quintessential western brand,” said Current of how the brand shaped her aesthetic. “I have boots I have collected for years.” 

The Stetson executives, unmistakable in their 10-gallon cowboy hats, were in from New York for the event. CEO Robert Dundon credited his wife, a fan of The Great’s take on Americana, for suggesting he reach out. Indeed, The Great is rooted in great denim, knits and everyday wear with a romantic nostalgia, and has had some of the most considered collaborations in American fashion in recent years, including with Eddie Bauer, Red Wing, Aerie and now Stetson.

Stetson was founded in 1865 by John B. Stetson in Philadelphia, and created the “Boss of the Plains” original durable, waterproof cowboy hat designed for the American West, before branching into other styles. Stetson hats, which are manufactured in Texas, have been worn such Hollywood greats as Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, John Wayne, Ronald Reagan, Kevin Costner, Lady Gaga, Post Malone and many more icons of stage and screen. In the 1980s, Stetson began to diversify with cologne and more, and currently it produces fragrance, hats, apparel and bourbon.

The brand is seeing The Great partnership as an opportunity to grow its women’s business, both in footwear and apparel.

“Our women’s business really started to come online when Beyoncé started wearing our hats onstage during the Cowboy Carter tour … It made us think maybe there is something there,” said Dundon.

Western wear isn’t just a trend, it’s here to stay, he said. “I always think back to the film ‘Urban Cowboy.’ We had this big peak in our business in 1980 but then it went back to the way it was,” he said of the influence of the romance starring John Travolta. “This time it just keeps going up and up. It’s permeated a lot of culture.”

Stetson x The Great is available at The Great stores, The Great and Stetson websites, and at select wholesale accounts. 

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