Nude illusions and straightforward sparkle: The best looks on the Actor Awards red carpet

March 2, 2026

Updated March 2, 2026 — 2:23pm,first published March 2, 2026 — 10:21am

No event with a red carpet should sound like an ill-fitting suit or dress, so the SAG (Screen Actors Guild) awards have been renamed the Actor Awards.

Hosted by Kristen Bell, the 32nd Actor Awards have marked the last opportunity for stars to clock a style win ahead of the Academy Awards on March 16.

For the first time, the event gave guests a Met Gala-style theme, Reimagining Hollywood Glamour from the ’20s and ’30s. Here are the timeless looks from the red carpet in Los Angeles.

Rose Byrne in Chanel

There is an ease and deceptive simplicity to awards season darling Rose Byrne in an embroidered Chanel tea-length dress.

The drop-waist closing look from creative director Matthieu Blazy’s pre-northern autumn runway show in New York channelled ’20s flapper energy without the frippery.

Silver-strapped heels and a blow dry that could have come courtesy of the winds on Bondi Beach added to Byrne’s relaxed approach to the red carpet.

Teyana Taylor and daughter Rue Rose.Getty Images

Teyana Taylor in Thom Browne and daughter Rue Rose Shumpert

One Battle After Another actress Teyana Taylor is taking an academic approach to nude illusions with her red carpet dressing.

Following her sparkly Schiaparelli G-string at the Golden Globes, Taylor wore a custom Thom Browne gown with 400,000 sequins,175,000 beads and a tromp l’oeil bodice hinting at what’s underneath to the Actor Awards.

The artistic approach was also taken to the seat of the dress.

Compared to the minimalist and nearly nude approach of rapper Ye’s wife, Bianca Censori, at last year’s Grammy Awards, Taylor’s outfit shows a woman firmly controlling her image with style.

Timothée Chalamet in Prada

The leading man era of Timothée Chalamet is finally here. The 30-year-old Marty Supreme star wisely left the orange tracksuits he wore to the film’s premieres at home and delivered his best George Clooney impersonation in a Prada suit.

Wispy facial hair from red carpets past has been replaced by a ’90s goatee.

Chalamet has also embraced the chillet (chill mullet) hairstyle currently being championed by Paul Mescal, Harry Styles and Connor Storrie.

Sarah Pidgeon in Balenciaga

In Love Story, currently streaming on Disney, red carpet newcomer Sarah Pidgeon plays style icon Carolyn Bessette Kennedy. It’s a lot to live up to, but Pidgeon gave Kennedy’s minimalist style a colourful update in a pale pink silk strapless Balenciaga dress.

Kennedy’s understated approach was also evident in Pidgeon’s hairstyle – blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail at the nape.

Yerin Ha in Balenciaga

Following her acclaimed debut in the Netflix series Bridgerton, Australian actress Yerin Ha has had her fill of corsets.

Along with Weapons actress Amy Madigan and Marty Supreme’s Odessa A’Zion, Ha donned trousers for her walk down the Actor Awards red carpet.

For her role as the ceremony’s official 2026 ambassador and a presenter, Ha also wore a white fringe crop top with petal details. Cool ease trumps corsets every time. This is no damsel in distress.