What the Stars Will Wear to the Oscars

When you wear a sparkly jumpsuit with a statement bow to a major award season red carpet, as the Birdman supporting actress nominee did to the Golden Globes, you're not phoning it in. We trust that Emma will continue to add a fashion-forward element to the festivities and go not for a slinky gown, but for an ornate feather dress from one of her most trusted labels, Giambattista Valli.

Sure, she already wore emerald green to the SAG Awards last month, but we don't think that's any excuse to count out this ruffly green Naeem Khan dress as an Oscar contender. The Still Alice star has likely worn this color the most throughout her red carpet career, with good reason. The rich hue pops against her fiery red tresses.

It doesn't take a fortune-teller to guess what the actress, nominated for her role in Two Days, One Night, will wear to the Oscars. The face of Lady Dior, she has worn Christian Dior dresses to nearly every red carpet for years now. And it's not just because she's on the brand's payroll. As a muse for designer Raf Simons, she wears Dior well, gracefully balancing sophisticated silhouettes with edgy color combinations and vibrant textures. This embellished pink leaf gown from the Spring 2015 couture show is just the right amount of French je ne sais quoi we've come to expect, not just from the fashion house but also from Marion herself.

Whether or not she wins an Oscar for her role in Wild, she's already won the honor of America's sweetheart among this year's nominees. To that end, she will likely stick with her classic Old Hollywood glam aesthetic and opt for a body-hugging strapless gown in a saturated color. Luckily, her go-to designer, Zac Posen, created the perfect bright red sheath in his Spring collection.

As the unofficial MVP of the Academy Awards, the 19-time Oscar nominee (she's won three times already) doesn't have as much on the line when it comes to her red carpet look. After all, she's always got next year . . . when she'll inevitably be up for the statue again. So, despite the fact that she wore Lanvin to the past three ceremonies, we think the Into the Woods star is going to go with another trusted designer: Carolina Herrera. The full-skirted silhouette is a signature of Meryl's, and the bold ombré layers will keep any critic from uttering the words "age appropriate."

Just as there is no question Marion Cotillard will be wearing Dior to the Oscars, it's a near certainty that Keira, nominated for her supporting role in The Imitation Game, will be dressed in Chanel. And seeing that the celebrity ambassador for the brand doesn't always go for the expected — she wore a surprising butterfly-bedecked frock to the Golden Globes and a short frilly frock with flats to her own wedding — we are anticipating this less-than-traditional dress. Only Keira can pull off sheer accordion pleating.

The British star has spent this award season playing the field with brightly colored dresses from major fashion heavyweights — Christian Dior at the Golden Globes, Dolce & Gabbana at the Critics' Choice Awards, and Balenciaga at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. But to cap off her run as a best actress nominee for The Theory of Everything, we're hoping she'll return to her roots and choose a dress from fellow Brit designers Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig of Marchesa. And although this pink taffeta gown, with its three-dimensional floral bolero, is a bold choice, we hope Felicity — who surely has a long career ahead of her, filled with plenty of opportunities to wear black — takes the risk.

With a penchant for warm colors, the Wild actress tends to wear corals, oranges, reds, and taupes. And she always infuses a little sparkle. But considering this might be a truly shining moment for the nominee, we predict she'll choose a softer shade of peach and an ultrafeminine design like this Zuhair Murad Couture gown with an illusion bodice, beautiful beadwork, and sheer draping that will make her seem to float down the red carpet.

Of all the Oscar nominees, the Gone Girl star has been perhaps the most consistent with her red carpet style this season. With a penchant for neutrals, particularly all black or all white, the star has nailed the neutral look while still exuding sexiness with plunging necklines and cutouts. We don't imagine she'll stray too far off course this time. The velvety, winged-bodice opening look from the Valentino Couture show fits the parameters of her minimalistic style but promises to be anything but boring.

The Boyhood actress is a front-runner for the best supporting actress Oscar, but that won't go to her head when choosing what she'll wear to the ceremony. Patricia has stuck to conservative styles that accentuate her figure without showing too much skin. And color? Aside from a hunter green at the SAG Awards, she's an LBD purist, and we think she'd wow in this belted black Donna Karan dress.