Oscar Nominees’ Stylists Tackle Press Tours and Wildfires

The 2025 Oscar acting nominees are nearing the end of their press and promotional campaigns, and nobody is more relieved to see that finish line than Hollywood’s stylists.

For the men and women who dress the stars, this red carpet catwalk has been an exhausting sprint. And it’s not just about the high-end couture worn at premieres; it also has included the countless casual outfits seen on talk shows, press junkets, public appearances, TV tapings and more.

Each celebrity stylist can be expected to prepare dozens of looks to be worn on promotional tours. Zoe Saldaña’s stylist, Petra Flannery, estimates that she and her team worked close to 100 looks since her campaign for Emilia Pérez began in earnest in May at Cannes (mostly in Saint Laurent, one of the producers of the film; more on page 26). Kieran Culkin’s stylist, Chloe Hartstein, says the same of her preparation for the Real Pain actor. And Sebastian Stan’s stylist, Michael Fisher, worked on 96 outfits for the star as he campaigned for two movies, The Apprentice and A Different Man, all packed and ready to travel, with not a single accessory or minute sartorial detail missed.

The stylists are painfully aware that every stitch they put on their actors will be judged and scrutinized both by the court of public opinion and by unqualified TikTok critics — “Sack the stylist” is a frequent online comment — but they get used to it.

“My creative decisions are made between myself, the talent and the design houses, parties that have years of fashion industry knowledge and experience,” says Fisher. “I wanted his work to be discussed and not the wardrobe. TikTok doesn’t understand what it takes to do my job, so it is just unsolicited noise to me.”

Flannery puts it more succinctly. “I do what I do. Fashion is divisive. As long as my clients feel good, I feel good,” she says.

In preparation for this year’s Academy Awards, the stylists also have had to address the gravity of the Los Angeles wildfires in January, balancing respect for the tragedy with the celebratory spirit of the event. It’s a tightrope Hollywood stylists have walked before, after 9/11, for instance, and in 2018, when everyone wore black to the Golden Globes to support the Time’s Up movement.

The general consensus for this year? The style must go on.

“It was a concern [earlier in the season],” notes stylist Jeanann Williams, who dresses A Complete Unknown‘s Monica Barbaro. “We looked at cocktail options but ended up wearing the look originally planned.”

Flannery had a fitting on Jan. 6, the day after the Golden Globes (and the day before the fires broke out)and remembers thinking afterward, “Thank goodness all those dresses have gone back to Europe — they were far from L.A.!” She adds, “There was definitely a moment where we toned things down a bit. But I am grateful we are back to work so we can showcase the art that we have been creating.” Williams agrees. “All of us could use some joy,” she says, “and fashion gives people that.”