Why, exactly, have women directors come to dominate the red carpet in force this awards season? Of course, the simple (and somewhat depressing) explanation is that there are more of them around than usual. The dramatic gender imbalance that typically defined the Oscar categories outside of acting has—slowly, and with much stuttering along the way—begun to right itself over the past few years, partly thanks to the Academy making increasing efforts to diversify its voting body. Looking back at Oscars history, the data makes for bleak reading: out of the 476 nominees in the category of best director, less than 2%—or eight directors total—have been women, and half of these nominations have occurred since 2010. Only once have two women been nominated in the same year (Chloe Zhao and Emerald Fennell in 2021) and even as recently as last year, there was an all-male list of nominees.
Yet however bracing those statistics may be, when it comes to the rich variety of fashion sensibilities these directors have brought to their outings over the past six months, it doesn’t tell the full story. What has felt most striking, perhaps, is how—as with Zhao’s Loewe suit—each of these directors has refused to hew to any kind of prescribed formula for what they wear. Instead, they’ve gravitated towards outfits that feel visibly, well, them.
While riding the Barbie rollercoaster, Gerwig has worked with stylist Karla Welch to deliver a handful of Old Hollywood moments, like the Fendi -bias-cut black gown and opera gloves she wore to the Golden Globes, alongside more offbeat choices, courtesy of designers like Molly Goddard, Jil Sander, and 16Arlington. On the other hand, Sundance breakout A.V. Rockwell, the writer and director behind the searing Teyana Taylor-led family drama A Thousand and One, has worked with Jason Rembert (he of Issa Rae and Lily Gladstone fame) to lean into full-throttle glamour, wearing gowns by the likes of Louis Vuitton and Elie Saab.
See all of A.V. Rockwell’s awards season looks:
