Throwback Pics Of The Oscars Show How Much Award Show Fashion Has Changed Since The '70s

"We're trapped in the 20th century still," suggested cultural theorist Mark Fisher in 2014 (via YouTube). "What it is to be in the 21st century is to have 20th-century culture on higher definition screens." In that case, perhaps the 1970s is the decade that casts the longest shadow across creative directors' style mood boards and high-end runways.

However, there are still many vintage 1970s celeb styles that would look seriously bizarre today. There may still be references to the decade at awards shows, take Damson Idris wearing Isaac Hayes-esque fluffy lapels at the Oscars in 2026, for example, but it's not quite as maximalist or bold as the real thing. Perhaps there's no better place, then, to see how awards show fashion has changed than to look back on Oscars outfits from the years when "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest" and Kramer took on Kramer.

So, slip on your comically wide flares and pull your tinted glasses over your eyes. Let's review some Oscar looks that are as quintessentially '70s as shag carpets and glam rock.

Dennis Hopper kicked off the '70s Oscars in old-school cowboy style. The "Easy Rider" director's  Western look is complete with a Stetson-style hat, a bolo tie, and sideburns. It's a strong and respectable commitment to the bit. A commitment lacking in the world of warp-speed micro-trends, "-core" suffixes, and portmanteau subcultures. Heck, even streetwear style has borrowed elements from the Wild West. These days, the Western red carpet look is usually a high-end and modern reimagining of the style. Whereas Hopper went the whole hog with his cowboy clobber.

At the 42nd Academy Awards in 1970, Hugh Hefner still had a sartorial hangover from the swinging '60s as the Playboy head-honcho wore a very Austin Powers-coded ruffled shirt. Despite Ryan Gosling donning a similar look at the 2017 awards, for the most part, this shirting situation is dated by its costume-y-ness. "[Gosling's] Your shirt is giving me 'bad prom tux' realness," wrote one user on X. "The shirt reminds me of every nerd in prom movies who thinks they look cool," they added.

The beanie hat is ubiquitous, worn by both sports stars on the sidelines and pumpkin-spiced latte enjoyers in autumn. However, aside from designer Louise Trotter's fall 2026 Bottega Veneta collection, it isn't exactly a high-end look fit for an awards ceremony. So, it might surprise you that "Love Story" actor Ali MacGraw wore a beanie at the 1971 Oscars. Her crocheted beanie looks like something your grandma would kindly (and unnecessarily) knit as a Christmas present. Mahershala Ali's formal beanie in 2019 notwithstanding, we're not surprised this look didn't catch on at awards shows.

​​In a modern era when white has won Pantone Color of the Year and quiet luxury is in, Jeanne Moreau's 1971 dress makes multiple cases for bold, loud looks. Firstly, it's a multi-colored striped dress. But her out-there-ness wasn't just kaleidoscopic; each stripe had a distinct pattern within it. Yes, it's as maximalist as it sounds. The "La Notte" actor certainly made a statement that night in '71. But it's a statement that's of its time. These days, Oscar attendees tend to go with one or two block colors.

When collecting his Oscar for best song, Isaac Hayes wore what is potentially the most '70s suit of all time. What makes this look distinctly '70s? Well, he has a ruffled shirt, fur lapels, and translucent tinted sunglasses. It's like someone tried to draw a '70s red carpet outfit from memory. Although elements of the "Theme from Shaft" composer's outfit have gone in and out of style, you could only put them together in the '70s. So much so, it's one of our most iconic red carpet looks of the 1970s.

While presenting the award for Best Picture to "The French Connection" in 1972, Jack Nicholson wouldn't get away with his part-Chinoiserie part-cartoon patterned shirt-and-tux combo today. Thankfully, the polyester-patterned shirt that was so popular in the '70s was left in that decade. Take a look at Leonardo DiCaprio or Channing Tatum, or most men for that matter, at the 2026 Oscars. They're keeping it a lot simpler and pairing a tux with a white shirt. 

Given how quickly glasses trends seem to change, we wouldn't be surprised if Michael Caine's thick-rimmed shades from the 1973 Academy Awards came back in style sooner rather than later. The glasses the "Get Carter" star wore gave small-town librarian vibes, and considering we have had the office siren trend in the 2020s, nothing is off the table eyewear-wise. However, even when eyeglasses became the accessory du jour at the 2018 Oscars, none of them were quite as strikingly '70s as Caine's. 

Barbara Benjamin rocked up to a 1973 Oscars party wearing a fur coat. The glamorous garment was a valuable commodity at the time, but it's now marred by controversy due to animal welfare concerns. While second-hand fur coats have had a second life via TikToks and Pinterest boards, these days, it's not exactly considered an awards show piece. For example, Alina Habba gave haters fuel after doubling down on her tacky fur coat fail in 2024. If it's tacky for a MAGA event, then it's certainly tacky for the Oscars.

We can only imagine how German actor Elke Sommer's dress at the 1973 Oscars would be received today. It looked more like an aerobic workout 'fit, with its pastel colors and sparkly center, than Oscars haute couture. "When you see big fashion business now, you realize [the '70s were] quite an innocent time," explained style icon Celia Birtwell to the BBC. "There was a certain freedom then." In the here and now, European stars like Sandra Hüller, who wore a highly structured black velvet Schiaparelli gown at the 2024 awards, are more sartorial.

Patterns, sparkle, and sheer. Sonny Bono and Cher's joint slay at the 1973 Oscars had all the '70s style touchstones. The latter wore a gold-plated, sparkling two-set, and Bono donned a wide-lapeled suit. Back then, Cher was in her two-piece era; whether at awards or on "The Sonny and Cher Show," she was yet to move on to more rock-inspired 'fits. Bono's ruffles and velvet are equally telling of the '70s. It was an identifiable era for the then-couple, before eras became a thing.

In 1973, at the 45th Academy Awards, Diana Ross' outfit was as 1970s as it was 1770s. Well, it's certainly '70s then. The "I'm Coming Out" singer, who attended the awards as a best actress nominee for her role in "Lady Sings the Blues," decided to dress like 18th-century English dandy Beau Brummell. Ross' look owes a debt to the fashion-forward gentleman and proto-influencer Brummell, with her cravat, blazer, and waistcoat. It's definitely 1970s, too, as maximalism was in back then. And Ross would look maximalist in any century.

At a modern-day Oscars, the stars try hard and go all out sartorially, be it Teyana Taylor's Chanel dress or Chloé Zhao's leather look from 2026. So, Kate Jackson, who wore a white cardigan and red check dress at the 1973 Oscars, would be dressed down by today's standards. If an Oscar attendee wore that in the social media age, they'd be met with comments like "go on girl give us nothing," or potentially, make our list of the biggest fashion disasters at the 2026 Academy Awards.

Cher has worn some of the most daring outfits in fashion, and her look at the 46th Academy Awards in 1974 is one to add to that collection. In retrospect, it might look partially like Zara Larrson's "Midnight Sun"-era attire, with its flowery corsages, bright pastel colors, and beach-ready bralette, but it's wholly a '70s Bob Mackie design. We're glad to see Cher's '70s looks have influenced the 21st-century pop girls. But her experimental looks, even some Mackie-designed 'fits, don't always come off. Here are the Cher outfits that hit all the wrong notes.

These days, Linda McCartney is famed for being an animal rights activist with an eponymous meat-free sausage brand. But we can't confirm whether the fur she wore at the 1974 Oscars was real or faux: there was no HauteLeMode back then. Regardless, it has not become a ubiquitous award look since the '70s. Although the fake fur industry grew in the '70s and has since been embraced by luxury fashion houses, L.A. in March isn't the best weather for synthetic animal skin. Usually, fur looks are suited to the cooler climes of Paris Fashion Week.

A beret is an item of clothing you don't see much of these days. Unless it's Emily when she's in Paris or a really performative male. Back in 1975, however, Jack Nicholson wore one with his tuxedo at that year's Oscar ceremony. At the time, "The Shining" actor was close with Huey P. Newton, the Black Panther's founder, who donned similar headwear. But it's a reference that only makes sense at the time, as the Panthers ceased operations in 1982.

If two things sum up Sweden's cultural output in the twentieth century, it's ABBA and Ingrid Bergman. Well, both artists intertwined at the 1975 Oscars when the Swedish actor paid homage to her compatriots in a long, flowing, patterned dress while collecting an award for her performance in "Murder on the Orient Express." Although the Swedish quartet might be famed for their bell-bottoms and glitter, they also wore dresses like Bergman's. It's like if Alexander Skarsgård wore a Yung Lean-inspired look to the Oscars today.

Whether it was a mini-dress or a suit, stripes were a big thing in the '70s. The "Lipstick" star Margaux Hemingway hopped on the trend when she stepped onto the red carpet at the 48th Academy Awards in 1976 in a thick-striped, rouge-and-white dress. Of course, stripes are still a big thing in modern fashion. But not so much at awards shows. Heck, just look at the worst red carpet outfits in 2026, there's not a stripe in sight. Maybe, then, celebs should start reintroducing the pattern onto red carpets?

A lot of Diane Keaton's costume in "Annie Hall" was taken from her closet. It's a look that's beloved and has even become the basis for a trend. However, it's also as '70s as it comes. At the 1976 Oscars, Keaton didn't wear the latest dress by a major fashion house, as many Oscar-goers do today. Instead, she wore that costume-slash-personal outfit. As Keaton said when speaking to Vogue, "I don't want to be flashy, but I do want to dress myself with what I like."

At the 1977 Oscars, Paul Williams, alongside Barbra Streisand (more on her shortly), won best song for a ditty from "A Star is Born." Williams, interestingly, donned pink-tinted sunglasses to collect gold. After all, this is the decade when sunglasses got colorful. It's an incredibly '70s vibe. Think Elton John. Think Hunter S. Thompson. It's a look that says, "I'm going to have a cigarette inside." That's something you can't do at a 21st-century awards show, unless you're Sean Penn.

Alongside the aforementioned Paul Williams, Barbara Streisand was awarded for "A Star is Born." Also, like Williams, she wore an outfit that doesn't require us to tell you this was for the 1976 version, not Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga's. Streisand's dress notably featured a high neckline, something that was incredibly '70s but not so popular in the new millennium. As one Reddit user noted, "I checked out about ten mainstream brands and was really surprised to see that at least 90% of the tops have almost no neckline."

At the 1977 Oscars, the "Rocky" star Sylvester Stallone showed us just how much collar choices have changed. In the '70s, the big disco collar was all the rage. Like Stallone's, they'd often stretch across the collarbone and over the suit's lapel. These days, however, the collar usually stays within the suit's lapels. "[W]hy hasn't this trend of conspicuous collars come back?" asked a user on Reddit. Although Harry Styles did try to revive it, this look might be a bit too '70s to make a real "Rocky"-esque comeback.

After Coco Chanel created the little black dress (LBD), it was remixed and remodeled in countless ways, be it Princess Diana's revenge dress or Emma Stone's Oscar de la Renta. Yet, one thing's consistent: they're timeless. Vanessa Redgrave's LBD at the 1978 Oscars, however, wasn't. The "Julia" actor, a role for which she won an Academy Award at that year's ceremony, adopted the '70s "The Big Look." Whether it was wide or long, a lot of the era's clothing went big. What could've become a classic Redgrave look instead became a victim of its time.

Unless it's Tom Ford, not many are doing awards suiting quite like Mark Hamill's at the 1978 Oscars. That's because Hamill's tux has lapels the size of a small island nation. In the '70s, suits, like many other items of clothing, got wider and bigger. More specifically, the lapels went on steroids and got giant. Ford has even admitted his debt to the decade. "'I think the 1970s will always be the decade for me," he said (via Marie Claire). "Obviously, I grew up in that era, but the beauty standard was touchable, kissable."

Raquel Welch's look at the 51st Academy Awards in 1979 laid the blueprint for modern pop stars to wear jumpsuits. Welch, famed for being a '70s icon, wore a sparkling skin-tight sapphire-blue one-piece that looked somewhere between ABBA and a semi-ironic disco costume. However, fast forward to the 21st century, and it's more of a stage look. Since the '70s, the jumpsuit has become something for the spotlight, not the photographer's flashbulbs. Whether it's Dua Lipa or Sabrina Carpenter, the sparkling look hasn't gone away; it's just transferred to stadiums and arenas.

Although the '70s are so associated with bold colors and big statement pieces, Meryl Streep and Dustin Hoffman stripped it back. In fact, Streep almost looked like a proto-Carolyn Bessette Kennedy here. That's some foresight! These looks are technically from 1980 for the '79 movie, but Streep's bridal-inspired look would still work on a 2020s red carpet. The issue is, amongst the fur and sequins, the pair's looks are exceptions that prove the rule of maximalism at '70s award shows.

In the 2020s, the style choice for superstar actors on the red carpet or at awards shows is so-called method dressing. The trend sees A-listers adopt looks that blur the line between their on-screen character and their real-life selves. For reference, take a look at Margot Robbie's best "Barbie" looks. Comparatively, Michael Douglas' suit at a 1979 Academy Awards party looks similar to one your uncle would wear to the office. It just goes to show how far award-show fashion has come since the '70s.