Fashion: More subplots on the red carpet than on screen

Anora is a fairytale about holding on to humanity in a cold and ruthless world, clinging to romance in a climate of porn, and staying true to your values in a transactional culture.

- Jess Cartner-Morley

All of which is the story that fashion at the Oscars has been telling for years. Its red carpet is the ultimate expression of the dream-big mindset, where anyone can be a princess or a hero. But it has also become, in the 21st century, a pay-to-play game where fashion houses cut deals with actors to get their clothes in the spotlight. For women, it is also a tightrope walk through a judgmental environment in which having just enough sex appeal is a golden ticket, but too much is a guilty verdict.

Mikey Madison, 25, the breakout fashion star of the night, played the game and won. Anora's aesthetic references to Pretty Woman and True Romance seduced the fashion industry when the film was in cinemas last year. Madison was dressed for her big night in a bespoke recreation of a dress from Christian Dior's 1956 Bal à Paris collection. Winged black eyeliner and the gumball-sized vintage Tiffany diamond around her throat nodded to