With the 2026 Academy Award nominations now officially announced, awards season has entered its most visible and performative phase. Beyond celebrating cinema, these ceremonies function as cultural stages where actors refine their public image through fashion. This year, however, many of the nominees are not discovering style, they arrived with it already built in.

Long before campaign dressing and red carpet fittings, this year’s Oscar hopefuls were being photographed outside fashion shows, airports, and city sidewalks. And if there is one aesthetic link connecting this year’s nominees, apart from their Oscar buzz - it is street style.

A recurring visual motif this season in street style has been seen this season that reach beyond the red carpet. Timothée Chalamet, nominated for Best Actor for Marty Supreme, recently matched with partner Kylie Jenner vibrant orange outfits by Chrome Hearts. But that was not the only instance. As Vogue reports, Chalamet has been channeling it since the time he blasted onto the scene. In 2023, he attended the Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture Spring 2023, by Haider Ackerman in a black ensemble. Sophisticated but high with street style jacket, and white floral motifs. 

Similarly, Golden Globe winner Teyana Taylor, nominated for Best Supporting Actress for One Battle After Another has strengthened her fashion visibility through red carpet moments. At the All’s Fair premiere in London, Taylor appeared in complementary snakeskin leather looks, turning a promotional outing for the series into a coordinated style moment that fused street edge with couture sensibility. 

Elle Fanning, now a first-time Oscar nominee for Best Supporting Actress for Sentimental Values, brought a contrasting energy to the Spring 2026 ready-to-wear shows in New York. Photographed by Phil Oh, she brought back the y2k jeans on jeans with oversized jean coat and a jean handbag, as posted by Vogue. Emma Stone, who is nominated for Best Actress for Bugonia, appeared at the Spring 2026 Paris show in a a stunning ribbed knit dress.

What is striking is how none of these looks feel like costumes. There is no sense of 'dressing for the camera.' Instead, their fashion choices feel lived-in, personal, and consistent and less about trends.

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And that same sense of unpredictability and personality is exactly what defined this year’s Oscar nominations.

Ryan Coogler’s Sinners dominated the 2026 Oscar race, making history with 16 nominations, while Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another followed closely with 13. Together, they set the tone for one of the most competitive awards seasons in years.

The acting categories are equally stacked. Chalamet faces Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael B. Jordan, Wagner Moura, and Ethan Hawke in Best Actor, while Best Actress includes Jessie Buckley, Renate Reinsve, Rose Byrne, Emma Stone, and Kate Hudson.

The International Feature Film category also surprised many, with unexpected exclusions and new global contenders reshaping predictions.

In the end, both the fashion and the nominations tell the same story: the 2026 Oscars are defined by individuality. These stars are not chasing image, they are curating it in real time, one sidewalk, one show, and one moment at a time.

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Is street style officially the new red carpet? Share your thoughts and your favorite celebrity looks ahead of the Oscars Awards on March 16, 2026.