Looking back at the best red carpet looks of 2025

This year’s red carpets served us some of fashion’s most memorable moments – from Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo’s viral Wicked looks once again to Lily Allen’s red carpet comeback following her album.

Method-dressing (when an actor pays homage to the film they’re promoting through their fashion) took the year’s red carpets by storm. However, some celebrities’ classically timeless looks also made just as big an impact.

Here are the most memorable fashion moments from 2025’s red carpets…

1. Lily Allen

With the release of one of, if not, the biggest, albums of the year – Lily Allen returned to the red carpet this November in her own version of a revenge dress.

Lily Allen’s West End Girl continues to dominate pop culture. Hailed as one of the year’s standout albums, it offers a raw yet rollicking portrait of her marriage’s dissolution from Stranger Things actor David Harbour.

Following its release, Allen attended the London premiere of The Hunger Games: On Stage, where she opted for a sheer and clingy black knit Dior dress from 1999 designed by John Galliano, with a high neck and long sleeves, wearing nothing but a black thong underneath.

It was Allen’s own interpretation of Princess Diana’s iconic “revenge dress.” The rest of her outfit stayed fairly simple, complemented by black platform Louboutins and a curated mix of rings. Her hair was swept up into a textured, layered bun with her trademark messy bangs and she finished the look with fresh, minimal make-up.

2. Cynthia Erivo

Cynthia Erivo sported a showstopping silk and patent leather gown at the London Premiere of Wicked: For Good, the sequel to 2024’s Wicked.

Wearing custom Prada, the dress was finished with vinyl, puffed, harnessed mutton sleeves.

The striking silhouette evoked her Wickedalter ego, Elphaba. Erivo finished the look with and jewellery by Roberto Coin.

3. Alexa Chung

British ‘it’ girl Alexa Chung leant into the major trends of the year at the Fashion Awards in December, sporting a dress that featured a drop waist, funnel collar and balloon sleeves.

Picked from Chloe’s recent spring/summer 2026 collection, the canary yellow knee-grazing style was made from a weather-proof fabric (a good nod to the British blue carpet) and featured a peplum-esque hemline.

But rather than lean into the boho connotations that the French fashion house is known for, Chung instead opted for a pair of croc-print heels – a style that the Princess of Wales has been wearing on repeat.

Her pair were travertine-toned pumps from luxury shoe brand Christen. Chung then finished the look with Pandora jewellery and loose Forties-style pin curls.

4. Ariana Grande

Also sporting some of 2025’s biggest trends on the red carpet was Ariana Grande.

While her Wicked looks were striking in their own right, Grande’s peplumed, polka-dotted dress she wore to the MTV Music Awards in September was the perfect illustration of how the pattern has resurged in popularity this year.

The strapless custom Fendi gown was inspired by a dress from the 1980s by the namesake brand, designed by Silvia Venturini Fendi, who served as the fashion designer and artistic director of accessories and menswear. To accessorise, Grande tied a black-and-white-dotted ribbon around her high ponytail and finished the look with simple jewellery from Swarovski.

5. Lewis Hamilton

Some of this year’s best looks, unsurprisingly, came from one of fashion’s most celebrated evenings – the Met Gala.

As co-chair of the evening, Lewis Hamilton wore a custom look by the London-based designer Grace Wales Bonner.

His cropped ivory jacket sat just above a pair of tuxedo trousers, from which a meticulously embroidered sash flowed.

The outfit was completed with a custom beret by legendary milliner Stephen Jones, Manolo Blahnik shoes and an Asscher-cut brooch by Briony Raymond, undoubtedly making the Formula One star one of the best-dressed men of the evening.

6. Chappell Roan

Making her Met Gala debut, Chappell Roan embraced the evening’s “Tailored for You” code this year with a flamboyant, pink suit-inspired ensemble evoking her Pink Pony Club hit.

Flared sleeves, wide lapels, bell bottoms and a coat to match, the singer’s look was camp, bold, theatrical and bursting with personality. A reminder that red-carpet dressing is as much about self-expression than it is about trends.

7. Emma Stone

This year, Stone brought back the pixie cut almost singlehandedly – and perhaps with the help of long-time lovers like Teyana Taylor and Jourdan Dunn.

Thanks to her role in Bugonia, where she shaved her head, the 37-year-old actress has sported a short cut on all the red carpets this year.

One of the most memorable was at the Cannes Film Festival, where Stone stepped out in a boho-chic, tiered plunging gown from Louis Vuitton, with delicate lace trim.

The navy slip dress, which leaned into the ongoing lingerie-but-make-it-fashion trend, was a romantic, statement piece that spoke for itself, so it made sense that Stone kept her jewellery minimal and opted for a natural wave in her hair.