All the French fashion that dressed and embellished the Cesars

This weekend was a busy one for France and its cinema. After an emotional 50th César Awards ceremony last Friday, cinema moved to the sunny city of Los Angeles for the 97th Academy Awards last night. And while French cinema shone both on home soil and in the U.S.—with a sweep of Césars won by Emilia Perez, directed by French filmmaker Jacques Audiard, the Oscar for Best Makeup and Hairstyling awarded to Stéphanie Guillon and Marilyne Scarselli for The Substance, and the Oscar for Best Animated Feature won by Ron Dyens for Flow, the Cat Who Was No Longer Afraid of Water—another French discipline nearly stole the spotlight on the red carpet: fashion. Here’s a recap of the made-in-France outfits that dazzled on the red carpet, whether objectively beautiful or simply very flashy.

Léna Mahfouf, divine from Friday to Sunday

Let’s start with someone who has made us proud since Friday (and long before that): Léna Mahfouf. Under her YouTuber persona Léna Situations, the young Frenchwoman hosted both the César Awards at the Olympia for Canal+ and attended the Oscars last night as a guest of Disney+. After gracing the red carpet in a stunning black Alaïa gown designed by Pieter Mulier from the French Maison’s SS25 collection, she later changed into a silver strapless Vivienne Westwood couture dress to chat with renowned guests like Pierre Niney and his stylish socks, Adèle Exarchopoulos radiant in Courrèges, and Julia Roberts dressed in black (like approximately 99% of the attendees). For the Oscars, Léna swapped her minidress for a blush pink maxi gown by Ashi Studio, featuring a corset top and a long train. Despite all the jewelry and accessories she sported throughout the ceremonies, her best accessory on the red carpet was her hair. While Léna frequently faces waves of unjustified hate and her presence at such elite events as a content creator is not always understood, this weekend—whether in her bold Alaïa dress, her Westwood minidress, or her final look—she proved to the haters that no matter what they say, she remains divine in all situations.

Timothée Chalamet’s lemon yellow Givenchy suit

In the category of "the brighter the better," we have Timothée Chalamet, who once again surprised with his look. While the young actor’s outfits are becoming increasingly eccentric and less conventional with each red carpet appearance, his latest fashion obsession remains hard to overlook. Case in point: after his pink ensemble at the A Complete Unknown premiere at the Berlin Film Festival, he arrived at the Oscars dressed head-to-toe in yellow. His monochrome outfit—comprising pants, a suit jacket, and a shirt—was designed by Givenchy and accessorized with a small gold necklace, reminiscent of his recent SAG Awards look, which turned heads not for its neon green shirt but for replacing a traditional and boring tie with a $25,000 Cartier watch. While some thought Chalamet’s quirky outfits were solely for the promotion of A Complete Unknown, where he fully embraced method dressing, it turns out he simply understands free will. And if he wants to dress like a chick on the red carpet, no one is stopping him—especially when it’s a chick in Givenchy.

The Dior dress of the night’s biggest winner

The star who shone the most on Sunday night, besides the made-in-France fashion, was none other than Mikey Madison, who walked away with the Best Actress title. The star of Anora, which won the Oscar for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Editing, Mikey Madison has been making waves for months. To walk the red carpet that would change her life and career, the young American chose to wear a strapless pink and black gown by Christian Dior. Based on an original 1956 design, the dress was perfectly recreated by the Maison’s ateliers, “a faithful reproduction of the Bal à Paris dress as originally designed by Christian Dior himself,” explained the French brand. Originally featured in the SS56 collection, the dress was initially crafted in white organza satin and black velvet. However, for the Oscars, it was reinterpreted in double-faced pink silk satin, enhanced by a black velvet bustier adorned with a delicate bow. A testament to meticulous craftsmanship, this exceptional creation required 400 hours of work in the couture ateliers of the French fashion house under the supervision of Maria Grazia Chiuri.

The Wicked stars more magical than ever in Schiaparelli and Louis Vuitton

After months of release and a promotional tour that left a lasting impression, Wicked and its actresses continue to shine. Last night, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo (finally) set aside their signature pink and green outfits to perform Defying Gravity on the stage of Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre, with Erivo in a white floral gown and Grande in an emerald dress (still paying homage to The Wizard of Oz). However, the red carpet saw them return to their well-known colors. Ariana Grande appeared in a stunning Schiaparelli couture champagne pink gown from the French house’s latest couture collection, presented in late January. Her colleague and friend Cynthia Erivo opted for a heavy, deep forest-green velvet gown, almost black, designed by Louis Vuitton.

Lots of Chanel, a bit of Saint Laurent, and a touch of Balmain

But Alaïa, Givenchy, Dior, Vuitton, and Schiaparelli were far from the only brands dressing the biggest stars. Some of the best looks of the night were, of course, created by the other major houses that define French craftsmanship today. Among them was Balmain, which dressed Doja Cat in a stunning leopard-print strapless gown, complemented by a matching scarf. There were also many Chanel looks on the red carpet, with Lily-Rose Depp in a long black lace gown, once again dressed by the Rue Cambon house, of which she is an ambassador. Margaret Qualley, star of The Substance, alongside Demi Moore, also wore Chanel, in a more understated black velvet dress compared to Lily-Rose's ensemble. Saint Laurent was also well represented on the red carpet, honored by Zoe Saldaña, star of Emilia Perez, who wore a medieval-inspired gown with a bustier woven with metallic threads and a deep red skirt designed in three voluminous layers of fabric.