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Honestly, if you weren't staring at your screen when Ariana Grande-Butera floated onto the 97th Academy Awards red carpet, did you even watch the Oscars? It was a moment. A massive, shimmering, pink-tinted moment that felt like the final boss of her Wicked method-dressing era.
Everyone expected pink. We knew Glinda was coming. But the actual Ariana Grande dress Oscars 2025 was less "pop star at an awards show" and more "high-fashion fever dream."
She didn't just wear a gown; she wore a literal sculpture. It was Schiaparelli Haute Couture, and it looked like it belonged in a museum as much as it did on a red carpet. Designed by Daniel Roseberry, the dress was this wild, structured, blush-pink masterpiece. The bodice was a sleek, strapless satin piece that morphed into a sculptural peplum, but the real talk of the town was the skirt. It was a massive, bubble-inspired sheer volume of fabric that looked like it was defying gravity—pun intended—every time she moved.
The Math Behind the Sparkle
Let’s talk numbers because they’re kinda insane. The dress was reportedly hand-embroidered with over 190,000 crystal rhinestones and sequins.
Think about that. 190,000.
That’s why the cameras were struggling to even focus on her at some points. The thing caught every single light in the Dolby Theatre. She paired the look with De Beers diamonds, because when you’re already wearing a galaxy of crystals, you might as well throw some billion-year-old rocks on for good measure.
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The coolest part? The structure was so rigid and intentional that it was inspired by an Alberto Giacometti lamp from the Schiaparelli archives. It wasn't just a "pretty dress." It was an architectural statement.
The Performance Change: From Glinda to Dorothy
Now, if you only saw the red carpet, you missed the most emotional fashion pivot of the night. Ariana wasn't just there to look good; she was a first-time nominee for Best Supporting Actress. That’s huge.
When it came time for her to perform with Cynthia Erivo, she did a full 180.
She opened the show with "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," and for that, she swapped the pink for a ruby-red slipper-coded gown. This was a deep-cut tribute to Judy Garland and the original The Wizard of Oz. It was a tea-length, glimmering red silhouette with a tulle overskirt that had a literal crystal red heel attached to the back of the neck.
It was surrealist, it was Schiaparelli, and it was perfect. It felt like a passing of the torch.
The Secret Third Dress
Most people missed the third change. You had to be watching the audience shots during the Queen Latifah tribute to catch it.
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Ariana slipped into a sheer black Fendi gown from the late Karl Lagerfeld’s final 2019 couture collection. It was a total vibe shift—gothic, moody, and very "anti-Glinda." It featured tiered layers and intricate webbing across the bodice. It was like she spent the first half of the night being the "Good Witch" and the last half letting her own style breathe a bit.
What We Learned From the Fashion
- Method Dressing is the New Standard: Following in Margot Robbie's Barbie footsteps, Ariana used the Ariana Grande dress Oscars 2025 to tell a story about her film, Wicked.
- Archival Fashion Matters: Her use of vintage Saint Laurent at the nominees' dinner and then archival Fendi during the show proves she's leaning into fashion history, not just current trends.
- Schiaparelli is the Red Carpet King: Daniel Roseberry has officially become the go-to for celebrities who want to look like art.
People keep asking if she "did too much" with the pink. Some critics thought it was a bit costume-y. But honestly? In a sea of safe, black tuxedos and "pretty" column gowns, she gave us a performance.
She even used the structured peplum of her main dress to prop up her phone during the ceremony. If that’s not the most relatable way to use a $100,000+ couture gown, I don’t know what is.
If you’re looking to channel a bit of that energy without spending six figures on crystals, focus on textures. The 2025 fashion trend is moving away from flat fabrics and toward three-dimensional shapes. Look for structured peplums or sheer fabrics with heavy embellishment. You don't need 190,000 crystals to make a point—just a little bit of that "Glinda" confidence.
Take a look at the archival pieces from the Fendi Fall 2019 collection if you want to see the inspiration for her "dark" look. It’s a masterclass in how to do sheer without it feeling like a "naked dress" cliché.