When you hear the word "peplum," what comes to mind? A neoprene fit-and-flare top? A nipped-in blazer with a waistline frill? Perhaps, after the 96th Academy Awards, you'll think of awards show glamour, too: Emma Stone wore a peplum dress on the 2024 Oscars red carpet that gave the pannier silhouette a very memorable, high-end twist and some kooky Bella Baxter flair.
Stone, nominated for Best Actress for her role in Poor Things, wore a custom Louis Vuitton gown in an oceanic seafoam green. The voluminous gown was crafted from a silk cloqué jacquard fabric and embossed with a moiré-like shell pattern.
Dressed by her longtime stylist, Petra Flannery, Stone's peplum dress was accented with a sparkling 30.47-carat octagonal step-cut Sri Lankan sapphire set on a diamond choker necklace. She added even more shine with white diamond studs and high-shine rings.
As for the beauty components of Stone's red carpet look, her makeup was natural and rosy, while her auburn hair was subtly wavy.
Stone appeared to have been rendered speechless by the magnificence of her peplum gown while on the red carpet. The Oscar-winning actress told Laverne Cox, "I, uh...I...uh... don't even know how to explain it! I was told the fabric is shells," shouting out the mermaid vibes of her playful dress. The mermaid flared hemline of Stone's dress accentuated the under-the-sea feel, turning her into an on-land mermaid.
In addition to an aquatic spirit, Stone's peplum dress called on the quirky costuming she wore as Bella Baxter in Yorgos Lanthimos' Poor Things. In the film, Stone's character, a dead woman brought back to life through a Frankenstein-esque procedure using the mind of a child, wore eccentric puff sleeves, a slew of ruffles, and lots of pastel sherbert hues. Stone's peplum Oscars dress would have blended perfectly with Bella Baxter's fantastical, maximalist fashion.
Poor Things is nominated 11 times tonight, including Best Picture, which puts it just behind the 13-nominated Oppenheimer.
In the Best Actress category, Stone is up against Lily Gladstone in Killers of the Flower Moon), Carey Mulligan in Maestro, and Sandra Huller in Anatomy of a Fall.
