Sequins, slits and brooches: awards season looks ahead of the Oscars

Browsing through pairs of shoes, celebrity stylist Deborah Afshani picks up some stilettos and matches them to evening gowns hanging off a rack.

Embellishments such as sequins and plenty of cutouts have been spotted on red carpet frocks this awards season, said Afshani, who will be dressing clients including "Hamnet" director Chloe Zhao, who is nominated for best director and best adapted screenplay, at Sunday's Academy Awards.

"I'm noticing sculptural kind of interesting shapes which are bold and statuesque," she told Reuters.

"I'm seeing very interesting decolletes and cutouts, which aren't your standard just at the chest. It might be deep on the side or a very low back."

Jessie Buckley, the frontrunner for the best actress Oscar for her portrayal of William Shakespeare's wife in "Hamnet", wore a black strapless gown with a voluminous white cape around the shoulders at the Actor Awards, while "One Battle After Another" actor Chase Infiniti chose a plum strapless dress with a striking peplum bottom for Britain's BAFTAs.

Best actress nominees Renate Reinsve and Rose Byrne have worn, respectively, a black tummy-revealing cutout gown and a white dress adorned with silver sequins on red carpets.

"When it's a nominee... it just feels like this big important moment and I just really want to honor it," Afshani said of dressing clients. "They'll be photographed usually more than some others and then I do imagine what it would end up looking... with an award."

FORMALITY IN MENSWEAR

For menswear, Oscar nominees including Leonardo DiCaprio, Timothee Chalamet and Michael B. Jordan have walked red carpets in tailored suits or tuxedos.

"The Oscars is historically the most prestigious, and with that comes more of an attention to formality when it comes to menswear," said Zak Maoui, style director of Esquire UK.

"I think we'll get sort of old Hollywood tuxes and not so many frills and sequins as we have in previous years at other award ceremonies."

Maoui said accessories included sunglasses - seen on nominees Ethan Hawke and Jacob Elordi - and brooches, worn by the likes of Jordan and fellow best actor contender Wagner Moura, among others.

"While five years ago, maybe people were fearful of wearing a brooch, now it's sort of the easiest way to add something to an outfit," Maoui said. "We're seeing a lot more of that."

-Reporting by Alicia Powell in Los Angeles and Marie-Louise Gumuchian in London;Editing by Gareth Jones/Reuters