The Best New Artist category at the 2026 Grammy Awards is stacked with up-and-coming stars, including Addison Rae, KATSEYE, Olivia Dean, and more. The latter singer, however, isn't so much "new" as she is finally getting her flowers. See her black-and-white Chanel gown on the red carpet. Does Dean look like a newbie to you?
Dean's fans have left comments like "you can tell her stylist loves her" on her performance look pics for months, but Simone Beyene's adoration was clear on Sunday inside L.A.'s Crypto.com Arena. First-time nominee Dean arrived in custom Chanel crafted just for her by creative director Matthieu Blazy. Every element—from the sequin bodice to the ballgown-like skirt—was just as romantic as her Grammy-nominated album, The Art of Loving. Classic Chanel by Blazy feathers around her drop waist (seen in all three of his runway shows) married the black top and white pleated skirt. What started as a high-low hem flared into a bustled train, which Dean flaunted during her step-and-repeat.
Sure, Dean isn't a Grammy regular (yet), but she's been preparing for this moment since her debut album, Messy, in 2023. She and Beyene crafted her signature aesthetic—think romantic, '70s-inspired London girl glamour—at only a handful of award shows over the years. 2025, however, was when the Olivia Dean Look finally stuck.
She scored an invite to the 2025 CFDA Fashion Awards last November, not just to walk the red carpet, but perform, too. Before surprising fellow guests Jennifer Lawrence, Teyana Taylor, and Rihanna with an acoustic rendition of "So Easy (To Fall In Love)," she posed for photographers in a custom Thom Browne shift dress.
Butter yellow, cummerbund-inspired satin strips stretched from the strapless, straight-across necklace, beyond a lace-up corset, to the severe floor-grazing hem. Cartier diamonds elevated Dean's red-carpet look to five-figure status (if her bespoke Thom Browne didn't put it there first).
Two weeks later, Dean returned to the red carpet, this time for Australia's 2025 ARIA Awards. Her custom Robert Quinn ballgown had a certain vintage-y charm to it, thanks to the oversize rosette-topped bow, the drop-waist bodice, and the high-low, bubble-hemmed skirt. Dean's accessories—though understated—leaned into the dress's nostalgia. She traded a necklace for four-figure best-sellers from Cartier's circa-1969 Love collection.
Once it came time to perform "Man I Need," Dean took center stage at the ARIAs not in the Adele-ish gown, but a fringed gold dress straight out of the '70s. Flat metallic sequins added movement to the spaghetti-strap Rachel Gilbert mini, before three tiers of beaded fringe decorated the thigh-length hem. It complemented Dean's same Cartier jewelry seen on the red carpet.
Not only does Dean's music make you want to dance, her award show looks do, too. Her 2026 Grammy Awards gown is proof: Her sartorial joy is infectious.
