The Worst-Dressed Celebs At 2024 Academy Museum Gala

A relative newcomer to the awards show and gala circuit is the Academy Museum Gala. Kicking off in 2021 when the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures first opened its doors, the gala has been an annual tradition since. Rolex helped put together the 2024 festivities, which reportedly brought in $11 million for the museum. The honorees for that year were Quentin Tarantino, Rita Moreno, and Paul Mescal.

Over the short history of the Academy Museum Gala, many stars have shown up looking their best — such as in 2021 when "Sleepless in Seattle" actor Meg Ryan stunned on the red carpet a few weeks before her milestone 60th birthday. 

At the 2024 gala, Nicole Kidman was the epitome of glamorous in a sleek, all-black Balenciaga number. Ariana Grande also redeemed her worst-dressed Oscars 2024 look, this time wearing a chic Balmain dress with black polka dots and accents. However, some celebs in 2024 showed up looking less like shining stars and more like walking fashion emergencies.

Kim Kardashian arrived at the Academy Museum Gala in a 1998 design by the late Thierry Mugler. The look was a stark white corset with a deep neckline, paired with a floor-length hooded coat, although Kardashian opted not to wear the hood.

It looks like the reality star stepped out in just her first layer of clothes, forgetting to put a gala-worthy gown overtop of it. Perhaps she's a staunch believer in the "no pants" trend.

"The Substance" actor Margaret Qualley wore Chanel on the Academy Museum Gala red carpet — an all-black dress with spaghetti straps, a V-neck, and a see-through skirt. Due to the optical illusion of the black shorts under the skirt, it almost looks like the designers ran out of time to fill it in the rest of the way and that Qualley's legs were not supposed to be seen.

Qualley also wore an intricate headband, which did add some much-needed sparkle to her look.

Elizabeth Banks wore a strapless black Thierry Mugler dress for the 2024 Academy Museum Gala. Both the neckline and hemline were asymmetrical, and the fabric looked very wrinkled. Although that was part of the initial design of the dress, it was distracting and made it seem like she haphazardly stumbled into a black curtain and decided to wear it.

However, Banks' accessories — a simple black purse and black Jimmy Choo heels — were a hit.

Unlike Ariana Grande, Eddie Redmayne's foray into polka-dotted territory was not so successful. He wore a black suit jacket with tiny white dots. Since the polka dots weren't spaced out, looking at the design for too long was rather headache-inducing.

Redmayne also paired his jacket with an odd choice of a collared shirt. A black bowtie-like accessory connected the two sides of the collar. It looked like the same shirt Colman Domingo wore — could it be considered a fashion faux pas for two stars to wear the same thing to the same event?

Louisa Jacobson is Meryl Streep's daughter and an actor as well. For the 2024 Academy Museum Gala, she wore an all-white Louis Vuitton dress with a long train. The train gave the illusion of a wedding dress, but that's not all.

Jacobson's gown also had extra fabric looped over the shoulders and had the vibe of a stole worn by a graduate. Since the gala wasn't a wedding or a graduation, Jacobson's outfit was glamorous but an odd choice.

Gal Gadot wore a white dress with a floral pattern designed by Loewe for the Academy Museum Gala. The strapless dress had fluttering sleeves around Gadot's elbows, but the most notable feature was the hoop skirt, which was visible in many snapshots due to the white fabric being almost sheer.

The hoop skirt was a major feature in many looks from Loewe's Spring 2025 collection, but Gadot's red carpet look would've been better if she'd opted for a more modern silhouette.