The Absolute Worst-Dressed Stars Of 2024

Fashion can be wild fun without the rules. But given the entertainment world's own ironic inclination to set beauty standards, certain rules exist, fortunately or unfortunately. When broken, they can land a celebrity on a worst-dressed list. Being downvoted for your outfit at an event isn't the end of the world and, the good thing is, most celebrities don't treat it as such. Despite finding repeated mentions on such rankings, celebs from Sarah Paulson to Kieran Culkin continue to explore fashion in all their unconventional authenticity. As Culkin admitted to COS Magazine, "I wouldn't say that I dress very cool, but I dress like myself." And we tip our hats to that!

The year 2024 was an interesting time for fashion, with celebrities getting up to all sorts of experiments that ranged from wet dresses to velvet tuxes. Not all of these wardrobe adventures had smooth landings though — either as a consequence of being carried poorly, or just by dint of baffling designs. All in all, certain outfits failed to impress fashion commentators at large. Here is our compilation of the worst-dressed stars of 2024.

If there's one thing Billie Eilish can't be faulted for, it's her understandable inclination toward comfort. Billie Eilish is never afraid to go makeup-free and the "Ocean Eyes" singer's iconic baggy clothes are all too relatable for bra haters around the world. Unfortunately, Eilish's oversized fashion does not always find favor at showbiz events that are fueled by high glam. The 2024 awards season seemed to have been an exceptionally hard year for Eilish's fashion, with the singer's outfits repeatedly missing the mark. 

At the Golden Globes, Eilish gave oversized fashion new meaning with a blazer and skirt combo that sat ridiculously large on her frame. It seemed like Eilish had pulled out all the stops to go camp but ended up with a cluttered presentation that made her look like a runaway schoolgirl. She also came away with a low fashion score at the People's Choice Awards. Her low-effort, semi-formal sweater turnout was arguably not too outrageous — and did look super comfy — but lost points for being a tad too bland. We honestly wouldn't mind if Eilish decides to retire her academia-core trend in 2025.

The year 2024 was not the best time for Katy Perry, fashion-wise. One of her first serves that missed the mark was delivered at the iHeartRadio Music Awards, where she arrived looking like a hastily wrapped present in a black fishnet dress inexplicably held together by red ribbons running down its side. Her double-sized boots and futuristic glasses also did little to explain what the sheer look was all about. The bold aesthetic was probably part of Perry's style shift that fashion commentators have been noticing in recent times, but can reasonably be explained by Perry's remark to Harper's Bazaar way back in 2010: "I have multipersonality disorder — in a very good way, of course — when it comes to my fashion choices."

The ultimate standout, however, was Perry's look at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs). It's hard to accurately explain the singer's outfit in its totality without accidentally pulling it to pieces — the ensemble had plenty of that going on anyway — but "rags," "tattered," "threadbare," and even "shipwrecked" were some descriptors used in the press. The skirt and bralette combo from Who Decides War — which Perry rounded out with a sultry wet look all the way from her hair to her abs — was apparently a modern take on Victorian fashion. We're still not sure how the QR code tattoo on her back added to the historical theme but then again, Perry has always been synonymous with kitsch.

The world can count on Ed Sheeran to almost never fashionably deliver — at least in the way showbiz expects its denizens to. Even as the "Shape of You" singer tried to switch his style up in 2024, his left field experiments didn't bode all too well for him. For the Grammys, he opted for a Stella McCartney ensemble with camouflage print all over. To be fair, the outfit had potential to look cool if carried well, but on Sheeran, it seemed like a low-effort, last-minute grab from the wardrobe. 

He repped the British designer once again for his Met Gala debut in a powder blue suit that invited unlikely comparisons to a Disney character — one iconic Troy Bolton. For all his musical abilities, Sheeran could never have imagined that he would be enveloped into the "High School Musical" universe. But there he was, in all his uncanny resemblance to Zac Efron singing his way through the East High prom. The Met Gala is daringly wide-ranging in its fashion scope but we can all safely conclude that anyone who shows up looking like a noughties teen might be cutting it too close.

The year 2024 was a big one for Greta Gerwig, what with the world still reeling from the fever dream that was "Barbie." Ironically, for all the Barbie-inspired fashion her fantasy film unleashed upon audiences — with her lead star Margot Robbie's Barbie looks dominating pop culture for what seemed like an eternity — Gerwig's own sartorial takes were less impressive. She kicked off the year on a bleak note, by virtue of a Molly Goddard gown she wore to the Critics Choice Awards. We're sure the dress' drop-down waistline, crumpled skirt, and billowing silhouette followed some kind of conceptual theme — Goddard's pieces, after all, are known for their volume — but the overall look ended up being likened to a shapeless bedsheet. 

The 2024 Cannes Film Festival was the scene of another critically panned fashion moment by Gerwig, who sported a puffy blue-and-white pinstriped dress that made her look just about ready for a day out in the countryside. For many commentators, the dress' unflattering fit wasn't the problem. Social media users were disappointed that Gerwig had foregone the dramatic accessories the haute couture outfit came with during its showcase at Maison Margiela's much talked about spring collection. In the words of one widely-quoted X user: "Where's the accessories, the hair, the make-up? Where's the DRAMA?!!"

If 2023 was about Barry Keoghan showing the world just how blatantly he is willing to commit to his craft, 2024 was about him pushing the limits of his audacity further — this time around with clothes. It's a different thing that it didn't all pan out in his favor. Even as the year began on a high note for the "Saltburn" star — who was splashed across magazine pages and covers that sang praises of his off-center style sensibilities — his newfound status as a fashion eccentric came into serious question when he showed up to Coachella looking like a life-size advertisement for Burberry. 

Few people can make an overdose of the brand's signature print work and Keoghan, in his matching shorts and neckerchief — paired with a white vest, no less — proved he was not one of them. Not too long after, he made his Met Gala debut, taking his fashion freak up by several notches. The fundraiser allows for, and even encourages, wild experimentation. But even in this accepting environment of whack, Keoghan stood out distinctly in his all-velvet tux (also Burberry), top hat, and multiple watches that — though somewhat consistent with the theme — made for too literal a representation of it. The actor was also among the worst-dressed at the Governors Awards, thanks to a shirt situation we couldn't quite make complete sense of. 

Sarah Paulson could very easily have spared herself from this exclusive club of worst-dressed celebrities, had it not been for a couple of outfits she experimented a little too hard with. Her first outing that left audiences scratching their heads was at the Toronto International Film Festival, to which Paulson wore a navy blue two-piece from Schiaparelli. A power suit would have been a fitting choice for Paulson, but the oversized ensemble she donned for the occasion all but undercut her powerhouse status — not least because of the ridiculously broad fringed sleeves that stuck out beside her, making it seem like the award-winning actor would flap her way down the red carpet any minute.

Paulson's turnout at the 2024 Emmys was not particularly impressive either, with yet another funky silhouette messing up any potential she had for a great fashion moment. Her Prada gown's design failed to match up to its sophisticated color palette of plain royal blue, black, and a dash of white. To be fair, the outfit showed promise halfway through but everything below the knee was a confusing mix comprising an extended skirt, an appendix of a trail, and a hulking bow. 

It was trippy seeing Kieran Culkin out of character as the sharply dressed Roman Roy, as he graced some major red carpets in 2024 wearing the wildest, most colorful outfits he could lay his hands on. This disparity was not why he made it to this worst-dressed list though. Even without the global "Succession" hangover, some of Culkin's wardrobe choices would have been a bit too difficult to digest. 

Some fashion authorities, for instance, did not enjoy Culkin's teal tux and gray shirt pairing at the Critics Choice Awards. While it wasn't essentially a bad outfit, Culkin would definitely have looked better in something less drab-hued when he went on stage to collect his award for Best Actor in a Drama Series. Consider also the paint-splattered tux Culkin wore to the Met Gala. It looked like it could have been an interpretation of "The Garden of Time" memo but standing there beside his wife Jazz Charton, who looked right on theme in a yellow floral gown, Culkin was neither here nor there in his streetwear suit. 

Emma Stone is an unlikely name on a worst-dressed list but we guess 2024 was just not it for the Hollywood star. She showed up at the BAFTAs looking like a giant orange popsicle in a one-shoulder Louis Vuitton gown with many curious details. The most obvious was the humungous balloon sleeve that dominated the whole look, sprouting out of her shoulder in all its Victorian glory. 

The costume was evidently an ode to Stone's role in "Poor Things" — for which she won a Best Actress BAFTA that night — but translating the film's campy regalia for an event that was not the Met Gala delivered a rather tedious finished product. That was probably the goal, considering that Holly Waddington, the costume designer on "Poor Things," likened Stone's character's style sensibilities in the film to that of "a 5-year-old dressing herself from her mother's wardrobe" (via Harper's Bazaar). 

Soon after, Stone picked up another Best Actress award for "Poor Things," this time at the Oscars. Here, it was less about the appearance of her gown — which, consistent to the historical theme, was another textured Louis Vuitton number — and more about the fact that it came apart mid-ceremony. Now, wardrobe malfunctions are a regular feature at award shows but even for actors like Stone, who can turn a blunder into a punchline, a broken dress doesn't exactly scream success. 

Zoe Saldana doesn't exactly play by the rules when it comes to fashion. Despite having a physique many in showbiz would kill for, she does not shy away from oversized suits or baggy pants that may not always have the most flattering silhouettes but somehow, work on her. Much as we're in awe of that sorcery, some of Saldana's outfits in 2024 just didn't come through for her. 

One such attire that stuck out was the Chloé dress she wore to the Met Gala. Peach nude, sheer, and boringly plain, save for the brand-embellished belt that sat awkwardly around her waist, the dress fell flatly down Saldana's form. Even the sexy thigh-high boots she paired it with couldn't salvage the look. Though Saldana gushed to Elle about having felt "beautiful in [her] own skin," the ensemble failed to make the cut for many critics. 

Saldana also didn't fare too well at the Cannes Film Festival, courtesy of a black Saint Laurent gown that could have easily passed the glam check, if it weren't for the gigantic blush pink bow detailing down the front. Some fashion commentators did lean into Saldana's baffling Disney-coded fit though, which gave her a slight edge over the rest of her peers on the Cannes worst-dressed list. 

Andrew Scott's 2024 look-book might have been somewhat of a bomb but we can't fault him for at least trying. The "Sherlock" star made it seem like he put some effort into consciously diverging from the plain ol' black tux prototype that the majority of men in Hollywood don't dare to break away from. He did this first with a crimson ensemble at the BAFTAs, where his film "All of Us Strangers" enjoyed a major moment with six nominations. Even his shoes matched! While his endeavor to make the tricky Berluti suit work earned praise from some quarters, the red attack was a tad too much and the obvious ketchup bottle parallel was hard to ignore. Some contrast would have given Scott's look more character, we think. 

Scott was also sized up with a critical eye at what was his very first Met Gala, where he chose to show up in a Versace ensemble that once again upended the traditional rules of male fashion. What better place than the Met to give that a spin, right? Dashes of gold detailing — by which we mean wasps on his shoulder — and jewelry balanced out the all-black look that in Scott's opinion to Esquire was "all very playful." Bold as it was, the look failed to universally impress as well as his toned arms did. If there's anything we have to be thankful for about that outfit, it was that it lacked sleeves.

Ex-boss Miranda Priestly would not be proud of Emily Blunt's fashion report card from 2024. "The Devil Wears Prada" actor — who earned her big screen breakout in the iconic role of a stylish fashion magazine elite — failed to match up to her character's high standards at this year's awards season, starting with the BAFTAs. To be fair, her Elie Saab gown more or less fulfilled the quintessential red carpet checks of being flashy, glamorous, and daring enough to catch the eye but the abundant embellishments overwhelmed the dress a tad too much. The exaggerated bell sleeves didn't help either. 

A few weeks later, her film "Oppenheimer" swept the Oscars and Blunt was there to partake in the celebration, albeit in a dress that raised some questions. The shimmery, sleek base of the Schiaparelli piece was golden and stunning but, the outré detailing that ran across the front looking like an underwear silhouette was inexplicably wild. The dress' gravity-defying shoulder straps — a cool feature, although probably not the most elegant — were also the talk of town. Aware of the buzz the dress would have generated, Blunt's stylist Jessica Paster told Vanity Fair, "Sometimes we don't play it safe. At this point of years of being with Emily, we can go have fun with fashion." 

Doja Cat is a pro at the art of fashion flamboyance. She dressed up as a literal cat for the Met Gala one year — need we say more? We sure can, given the sheer volume of outrageous outfits Doja Cat has worn over the years, but suffice it to say that the "Kiss Me More" singer knows what will get the world talking. While her daring deserves an applause, it doesn't always pan out positively. 

Doja Cat's first fashion bomb in 2024 came about at the Grammys. It was no surprise that her look carried the trademark shock element — courtesy of some very elaborate tattoos all over her body, including her forehead — but it seemed like the focus on cranking up this eccentricity had diluted all efforts to actually dress her well. The Dilara Findikoglu corset number she donned was plain peach and so dull that it failed to draw any attention away from all that ink.

The Met Gala, yet again this year, offered Doja Cat a non-judgmental stage on which to test the limits of whacky fashion. She pushed so far beyond the scope of the event's typical extravagance that she emerged inexplicably on the other side in a wet plain white t-shirt gown and landed straight on the Met Gala worst-dressed list. The explanation she offered Entertainment Tonight, of how "a white T-shirt is timeless and felt very poetic," was as inexplicable as her look.