Baftas 2026: Emma Stone leads stars in daring red carpet fashion
By Prudence Wade, Press Association
Celebrities including Emma Stone, Carey Mulligan and Kerry Washington dared to bare on the Bafta red carpet.
Stars descended on London’s Royal Festival Hall for the 79th British Academy Film Awards, with the trend for risque and backless outfits taking centre stage.
Stone, who is nominated for best actress for her role in Bugonia, braved the February weather in a daring black dress, featuring a halterneck, a keyhole cut-out and a daring backless design.
She paired the risque ensemble with delicate earrings and a loose chignon.
She wasn’t the only star opting for a backless outfit on the red carpet.
Carey Mulligan – who is nominated for best supporting actress for her role in The Ballad Of Wallis Island – wore a navy halterneck dress that was backless save for one thin strap, paired with a relaxed bob hairstyle.
While Irish actress Jessie Buckley’s outfit doesn’t look immediately daring – the electric blue dress featured a high neckline and bedazzled brooches on the shoulders – it revealed an unexpected scooped back.
Buckley – who is hotly tipped to win the best actress award for her role in Hamnet – paired the vibrant Grecian-style dress with short, wet-look hair.
Rose Byrne, who is nominated for best actress for her role in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, opted for a pale yellow Miu Miu dress.
The backless gown featured delicate sequinning on the bodice, thin bedazzled straps and was worn with a sleek updo and statement earrings.
Kerry Washington, perhaps best known for her role in TV series Scandal, wore a daring navy gown to the awards. The Prada dress featured a floral sequinned pattern on the bodice, a voluminous chiffon skirt and a statement backless design.
Up-and-comer Chase Infiniti, who is nominated for best actress for her role in director Paul Thomas Anderson’s film One Battle After Another, continued her red carpet relationship with luxury French fashion house Louis Vuitton.
Infiniti wore a burgundy coloured gown by the brand, featuring a strapless design and a dramatic fishtail. She accessorised the look simply, with a soft updo and chose long diamond earrings instead of a necklace.
Adolescence star Erin Doherty wore an unusual structured look also by Louis Vuitton – a black dress with a statement skirt and low neckline.
The shape is reminiscent of the turqoise dress she wore to the Critics Choice Awards in January, showing the actress is unafraid of taking style risks on the red carpet.
Norwegian actress Renate Reinsve – also up for the leading actress gong for her role in Sentimental Value – bared a daring amount of skin in a Louis Vuitton dress with a geometric cut-out.
Emily Watson, who is nominated for best supporting actress for her role as Mary Shakespeare in Hamnet, kept things simple but elegant in a chocolate brown gown with a low boat neckline and matching train.
The dress had long sleeves and was accessorised with an relaxed updo and a diamond necklace.
Stranger Things star Sadie Sink, who is set to star in Romeo And Juliet on the West End in March, wore a structured sage backless gown with her red hair left loose.
Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who starred in Doctor Who spin-off The War Between The Land And The Sea, brought some sunshine to the red carpet in a pink sequinned Giorgio Armani gown.
The style of the dress was simple, with a deep-V, a form-fitting silhouette and a leg slit.
Swedish actress Alicia Vikander, perhaps best known for her role as Lara Croft in the Tomb Raider series – also opted for a deep-V neckline.
Her pale blue Louis Vuitton gown featured a triangular cutout at the ribs and was fully encrusted in sequins, bringing some texture and interest to the look.
But not all of the red carpet was dominated with daring designs, with some stars experimenting with more demure fashion choices. Teyana Taylor, who is nominated for best supporting actress for One Battle After Another, flexed her style muscles in a dramatic brown outfit.
The coat-style dress featured a high collar that reached past her ears, ruching and a long train.
American actress Maggie Gyllenhaal wore a black long-sleeve gown with sparkly detailing on the sleeves, paired with a red lip.
While WandaVision star Kathryn Hahn wore a bright all-red look, with all-over ruching, a high neck and long sleeves.
The Bafta red carpet wasn’t short of daring menswear. Alan Cumming, actor and host of The Traitors US, took on hosting duties for the Bafta film awards, and walked the red carpet in a modern take on traditional suiting.
His black overcoat – worn on top of a black shirt and trousers – had a splash of white at the bottom, and was covered in long fringing. The monochromatic outfit had a welcome injection of colour thanks to dyed pink, blue and white coloured curls in his gelled-down hair, and was completed with a statement brooch instead of a tie.
Irish star Paul Mescal, who is nominated for best actor for his role in Hamnet, wore loose-fitting black suit with a simple white shirt underneath, accompanied by partner Gracie Abrams.
Meanwhile, Timothee Chalamet – known for being a daring dresser – kept things simple with a loose-fitting all black tuxedo.
Riz Ahmed, who has just starred in a contemporary South Asian take on Hamlet, wore a double-breasted pinstriped suit with flared trousers and no shirt underneath.
