85 Years Of Golden Glamour

In honor of the awards' 85th year, a rare glimpse at some of the greatest style moments in Oscar fashion history. 

Jennifer Hudson, in 2011
In 2011, after having lost 80 pounds, Hudson flaunted her newly svelte figure in a bright tangerine gown by Versace. "As soon as I walked in the door," said Hudson, "I was like, that's my dress, and I knew it. They tried to put me in other things, and I said 'No, that's my dress.' And I was right."

Beyonce, in 2009
This black and gold floral-patterned fishtail dress from Beyoncé's own House of Dereon line, hugged the singer's famous curves. Beyoncé performed a musical number with Hugh Jackman at that night's ceremony.

Anne Hathaway, in 2009
By 2009, Hathaway had already come a long way since her Princess Diaries days. But her Oscar nomination (for Best Actress in Rachel Getting Married) and subsequently stunning red-carpet look (a strapless, paillette-covered Armani Privé gown and jewelry by Cartier) ensured her status as an A-list glam goddess.

Halle Berry, in 2002
On the night Berry made history by becoming the first African-American woman to win a Best Actress Oscar, she also made an unforgettable fashion statement. The Monsters Ball star was resplendent in an Elie Saab gown with a crimson satin skirt and embroidered flowers and vines.

Julia Roberts, in 2001
At the Academy Awards in 2001, Roberts didn't just pick up her first Oscar (for Erin Brockovich)-she also ushered in a new era of fashion&mdsah;that of celebrities wearing vintage couture on the red carpet. Roberts's black 1982 Valentino gown with white ribbons and piping had a timeless beauty that would've looked fabulous in any decade. Valentino has said that seeing Roberts in the dress was a highlight of his career.

Björk, in 2001
Eccentric Icelandic songstress Björk arrived at the 2001 Oscars in an outfit that ruffled a few feathers: the now infamous swan dress designed by Marjan Pejoski. Björk, who was nominated that year for Best Original Song for "I've Seen It All," explained that she had also "brought six ostrich eggs with me, and I was dropping them carefully on the red carpet. But other people's bodyguards kept picking them up and saying in their thick American accents, 'Scuse me, ma'am, you dropped this.'"

Gwyneth Paltrow, in 1999
In one of the modern-day Oscars's most iconic fashion moments, Gwyneth Paltrow accepted her Best Actress award for Shakespeare in Love in a pink taffeta Ralph Lauren ballgown.

Nicole Kidman, in 1997
Although she'd often played it safe with her earlier red-carpet looks, Kidman took somewhat of a fashion risk at the 1997 Oscars-and it paid off. Her stunning acid green Christian Dior gown known as "Absinthe" featured a high slit and Asian-inspired embroidery, and helped cement the formerly style-challenged Kidman (remember her in the early '90s?) as a new icon of couture.

Kim Basinger, in 1990
Basinger designed the dress she wore to the 1990 Oscars- bizarre getup featuring part of a jacket, one satin opera glove, and a poufy ball skirt. Unfortunately, the look was more "huh?" than haute.

Cher, in 1986
When presenting the Best Supporting Actor award in 1986, Cher wore one of the most provocative Oscar outfits of all time: a midriff-bearing Bob Mackie getup featuring a beaded loincloth, a black cashmere cape, and a mohawk-style headpiece made of hundreds of rooster feathers (Cher had to sit on the floor of the limo on her way to the ceremony so as not to damage it). She is, said Mackie, "an original."

Elizabeth Taylor, in 1970
One of Taylor's most iconic fashion moments, this violet-colored chiffon dress, designed by Edith Head, matched the actress's mesmerizing violet eyes. The look was completed with violet eyeshadow, and Taylor's own 69-carat diamond necklace, a gift from her husband Richard Burton, who was nominated that year for Best Actor for his work in Anne of The Thousand Days (Taylor was not nominated that year).

Grace Kelly, in 1955
In the '50s, when leading ladies attended glitzy events like the Oscars, they tended to be dressed by studio costume designers-and there has been no studio costume designer more legendary than Edith Head. Head, who received a staggering 35 Oscar nominations and 8 wins for her work over the course of her career, designed the ice-blue, French silk gown that Grace Kelly wore to the Oscars in 1955, at which she won Best Actress for her work in The Country Girl.