Oscars 2023: The best looks from the champagne carpet

Bright pinks, dramatic capes, slick tuxes, oh my! The 95th Academy Awards began Sunday as they normally do, with stars posing in stylish haute couture — and this year, they brightened a muted, champagne-coloured carpet.

Jimmy Kimmel was host of the 2023 ceremony, a year after the Hollywood event was turned upside down by the slap — when Will Smith approached the Oscars stage and smacked Chris Rock for his comments about Smith's wife.

On Sunday, 11 Canadian nominees — recognized in a range of categories, from best picture to best makeup and hairstyling — were resplendent as they made their way along the carpet.

Among the carpet's standouts were Canadian actor Sandra Oh, wearing a fluttery canary yellow dress belted above the waist and a bold pendant.

Best supporting actress nominee Angela Bassett stunned in a deep purple Moschino mermaid gown with a dramatic shoulder, while Salma Hayek wore a festive, red-gold halter dress with a fringe skirt.

M3GAN actor Allison Williams arrived early in a soft, sequined gown paired with a baby pink cape.

Indian actor Ram Charan, who stars in Telugu-language box office hit RRR, worked the carpet in a classic black sherwani, a long buttoned coat with a high collar.

Stephanie Hsu, nominated in the best supporting actress category for playing Joy in Everything Everywhere All at Once, wore a sherbet pink-coloured Valentino gown. She told carpet co-host Lilly Singh that the gown was meant to "take up space."

Hsu's Everything Everywhere co-star James Hong cheekily referenced one of the movie's motifs with googly-eyed appliques on his navy blue bow tie.

Canada's own Sarah Polley — who directed best picture nominee and best adapted screenplay winner Women Talking — wore a black tux with a ruffled shirt and a rose attached to the lapel. 

"I don't like to be cold and I don't like my feet to hurt," she told carpet co-host Ashley Graham.

Chinese actor Fan Bingbing channelled old glamour in a sparkling gown with a plunging neckline and a dramatic emerald cape.

Actor Harry Shum Jr. put a modern twist on a classic, wearing a white evening jacket with black trim and a bold, wide sash tied around the waist.

Glass Onion star and Oscars presenter Janelle Monae wore a fiery orange skirt wrapped at the waist with a black bodice.

Cate Blanchett, nominated for best actress after starring as fictional composer Lydia Tár in psychological drama Tár, wore a two-piece ensemble with a shiny blue top and a sleek black skirt.

Dwayne Johnson went non-traditional in a salmon pink evening jacket with a carnation on his lapel.

Best actress winner Michelle Yeoh looked angelic in a feathery white frock, long hair flowing past her shoulders and delicate ear and wrist jewelry.