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The naked dress has become something of a red carpet event in recent years. Whether it’s Cannes outright banning it or Bianca Censori turning one into a global news cycle, it’s one of the quickest ways for a celebrity to generate headlines. Awards season, then, feels like one of the last bastions of (relatively) conservative dressing — guests tend towards old-Hollywood glamour, and, as the penultimate event in the calendar, the Oscars haven’t always been a breeding ground for edgy, viral looks. Particularly during the reign of the cutting tabloid “worst dressed” list, where a misstep could see a celebrity pilloried for months, even years. But the naked dress has certainly had its historic moments, with iconic looks that mapped its evolution as we understand it today (read: even more sheer).
Perhaps none more so than Cher, who arrived at the 1988 ceremony in a sheer black Bob Mackie gown — rhinestone fringe at the bust, matching stole, earrings and headpiece — to collect the Best Actress Oscar for Moonstruck and set a red carpet trend that would gather steam for decades.
In 2002, Halle Berry became the first woman of colour to win Best Actress — and wore one of the most striking naked dresses in Oscars history to do it. Created by Elie Saab, the gown featured a metallic burgundy skirt with a voluminous train and an asymmetric waistline, the bodice entirely sheer and embroidered with strategically placed flowers. Berry looked like a Grecian goddess emerging from swathes of satin. She wore it again, 22 years later, to the designer’s 45th anniversary show. We don’t blame her.
Another standout came from Gwyneth Paltrow — a red carpet risk-taker — who went as viral as it was possible to go in 2002 when she wore a nipple-first Alexander McQueen gown to the ceremony. Like Berry’s, it featured a voluminous skirt and sheer bodice, this time with cross-stitching down the front. She styled it distinctively punk: thick kohl eyeliner, braids. The look was a deviation from her polished public persona and featured on many worst-dressed lists. But it may have been simply ahead of its time — her daughter Apple Martin modelled it on Instagram in 2023. When Paltrow sat down with Vogue for a “Life in Looks” segment in 2021, she told the publication that everyone hated it, but that she thought it was “kind of dope.” She admitted the public reaction stung. “I had a weird hangover about it for a while because people were really critical. I think at the time, it was too Goth… it sort of shocked people. But I like it.” By 2013, her only note was a styling one: “I still love the dress itself, but I should have worn a bra and I should have just had simple beachy waves and less makeup.”
Since the early 2000s, the naked dress has become considerably less shocking — though at the Oscars, it’s often still reserved for the after-party. Recent moments include Julia Fox’s sheer, hair-laced Dilara Findikoglu look and Zoë Kravitz’s bumster cut-out. Below, the most iconic looks to date.
Cher, 1998
Wearing Bob Mackie
Halle Berry, 2002
Wearing Elie Saab
Gwyneth Paltrow, 2002
Wearing Alexander McQueen
Jennifer Lawrence, 2016
Wearing Dior
Ciara 2023
Wearing Peter Dundas
Emily Ratajkowski, 2023
Wearing Feben
Hunter Schafer 2023
Wearing Ludovic de Saint Sernin
Florence Pugh, 2024
Wearing Simone Rocha
Julia Fox, 2025
Wearing Dilara Findikoglu
Zoë Kravitz, 2025
Wearing Saint Laurent
The post 10 Oscars Naked Dresses We’ll Never Forget appeared first on ELLE.
