It was the peek-a-butt dress seen around the world. At last year’s Vanity Fair Oscars after-party, Zoë Kravitz wore a black Saint Laurent gown with a back mesh panel that started at her shoulder blades and ended at the bottom of her, er, bottom. Since then, red carpets have seen a slew of business-in-the-front, party-in-the-back looks, from Teyana Taylor’s “bijou thong” at the 2026 Golden Globes to Hailey Bieber’s cheeky panels at the recent Grammys. Kravitz’s after-party dress from last year was yet another piece of evidence for what’s come to be known as fashion fact: The It girl can set a trend like no other.
So, when the 2026 Oscars wrapped, and celebrities swapped their red carpet gowns for something more suited to the legacy publication’s celebration, every fashion editor covering the night had the same question: What would Kravitz wear to Vanity Fair’s 2026 Oscars after-party—and what soon-to-be-everywhere trend would come from it? Maybe lingerie and lace, another favorite look of hers? Something basic and black, but not basic in that sense? Or would she, somehow, up the cheeky precedent she set last year—and still make the best-dressed list?
