‘Napkincore’ takes over the red carpet: Why are stars suddenly dressing like table linens?

We’d already like to table this trend.

This year’s Oscars red carPet was chock-full of sequins, sparkling gemstones and salutes to Old Hollywood glamour, but EMMA Stone’s dramatic Louis Vuitton peplum gown reminded actor John Wascavage of something decidedly more mundane: a dinner napkin.

Sharing a clip of the best actress winner comically scurrying into the ceremony after losing track of the time, Wascavage cracked on X (formerly Twitter), “the silverware napkin roll realizing they’re about to miss their cue in Be Our Guest.”

the silverware napkin roll realizing they’re about to miss their cue in Be Our Guest pic.twitter.com/fUc6IIM5YF

— John Wascavage (@JohnWascavage) March 11, 2024

But Stone wasn’t the only star dressed like a table linen on Sunday; at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party, Kim Kardashian showed up wearing a crisp white Balenciaga look with a peaked bodice that inspired several comparisons to “the napkin on your plate at a fancy restaurant,” as fashion writer Emily Kirkpatrick put it.

Emily Ratajkowski, meanwhile, arrived in a daring Jacquemus dress with a sharp, square-shaped bodice that wouldn’t have looked out of place next to a supper plate. (“Brought to you by Bounty,” one person cracked on Instagram.)

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HauteLeMode fashion critic Luke Meagher tells Page Six Style he’s noticed an uptick in such papery pieces on red carpets and runways alike, pointing to the “napkin-like dresses” in Onitsuka Tiger’s fall 2024 collection and the “napkin-adjacent” silk scarves on the recent Courrèges catwalk in particular.

“Celebrities probably think it’s a new way to take on form-fitting pieces that have become staples on the red carpets as of late, but with a bit of twist — although I’ve yet to really been convinced the twist is worth it,” he says.

To be clear, napkincore began bubbling up well before the Academy Awards; “Past Lives” star Greta Lee showed off Lii’s avant-garde version of the look at last month’s Independent Spirit Awards, while Kat Graham was “giving elegant origami swan napkin” (to quote one impassioned Instagram user) on the Grammys red carpet in Stéphane Rolland Haute Couture.

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Of course, the real question is whether looks seemingly meant for blotting one’s lips could possibly catch on with the greater public. Meagher, for his part, thinks they could.

“It’s easy to replicate the trend through self-styling [by] turning scarves or large sheets of fabric into skirts or tops,” he notes, before throwing some of his signature shade.

“It depends on if the trend has a major moment where it actually looks good.”