On the biggest night in movies, there are two ways to win: Your years of craft and toil can be rewarded with a beautiful golden statue that names you one of the best of the best in your industry; or you can look really, really good on the red carpet. This year, the big winner of the red carpet was the brooch. I would say that these are not your grandmother's brooches, but they quite literally are your grandmother's brooches. The hottest men (and some women) in Hollywood are pinning butterflies and shrimps and flowers to the lapels of their coats just so that the light catches them and shines.
It was not the first time that brooches have appeared on the Academy Awards red carpet—fashion icon and beautiful man Colman Domingo has been wearing them for years to Hollywood events—but this year they reached saturation. Every big leading man, it seemed, had a brooch on, and if they didn't have one on at the award show, they sure as hell had one on at the afterparties.
Let's look at a few of the best from Sunday night's awards. Here is a closeup of Michael B. Jordan, who won the Oscar for Best Actor, at the Vanity Fair afterparty, and look at those stunning, star-shaped brooches on his lapel. I love the addition of the pink one as a little pop of color. The placement of all three in a triangle also mirrors the triangles created by the suit jacket and the lapel itself, which I find very satisfying.
Here is Ludwig Göransson holding his Oscar for Best Score, and look at how it matches those two golden brooches! I like how both are round in shape, but not perfectly round.
Here is a closeup image of the brooch that Jon Hamm was wearing last night. The delicacy of the diamonds used as the ends of the flower's filaments is so satisfying against the corduroy lapel.
The brooch king himself (Colman Domingo) not only had a sparkling flower brooch attached to his striped jacket at the afterparty, but also added an exciting silk handkerchief into the suit pocket that almost looks like leaves surrounding the flower. Beautiful!
My favorite brooches of the night are the ones worn by Kate Hawley. She won the award for Best Costume Design (for Frankenstein), so perhaps it is not surprising that she would have great taste in brooches. I love the orange and pink one at the bottom with all its negative space, and the diversity of shapes she chose.
Most of the brooches worn were round or spear-shaped, but Kieran Culkin seemed to be wearing a brooch that looked to me like a shrimp.
The dreaded Adrien Brody wore a brooch to the Oscars in 2025, and he wore an even bigger brooch to the awards last night. So large! I am not sure that I like the size of this brooch, nor do I love its placement. But the shape is thrilling.
Reece Feldman, a content creator, covered his blazer in ornate romantic profile brooches. Again, I do not like the placement of the brooches on this suit, and notice that it is even folding a little from the brooch on the pocket, but I love the innovation in brooch-wearing.
Comedian Kumail Nanjiani wore the only brooch that I was able to find the provenance of. It is a 1940s platinum and diamond brooch from Saidian Vintage Jewels, and I love the shape of this one with the bow tie. It creates two points of interest on the suit, which I find fun.
Shaboozey also wore an exciting brooch. Look how happy the brooch makes him:
Hudson Williams of Heated Rivalry wore a jewel-encrusted statement brooch. With the all-black suit, black tie, and black undershirt, the brooch really stood out.
Even Leonardo DiCaprio got out a tiny little brooch for the occasion! It looks like a bumblebee.
Perhaps the rise of brooches, like most fashion trends, is rooted in larger societal movements. It could be connected with the rise in maximalism, or it could be a recession indicator (you know when else they wore brooches a lot? 1929!!). It could be a signal that men are opening themselves up more to accessorizing, or that Hollywood stylists just bought a lot of brooches and don't know what to do with them. I don't know why brooches are back in style, but I do know that a large group of hot stars were wearing them at the Oscars this year. Brooches are back, baby!
