The Story Behind Emma Chamberlain’s Classic Hollywood Look for the 2026 Academy Museum Gala

Ahead of the gala, Chamberlain spoke with Vogue about the inspiration behind her gown and her “haunting” beauty look. At the Met Gala, she said, “People show up and they want to showcase their deepest fashion desires.” But this event, which raises money for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, called for a different approach. “It’s a very classic Hollywood evening,” Chamberlain said. “The after-party is at the Chateau. It just feels like, ‘This is LA, baby! This is Hollywood.’ And we’re going to do it exactly like that.”

Newly brunette, Chamberlain drew inspiration from iconic actors like Audrey Hepburn and Winona Ryder when envisioning her look. Ryder, in particular, was something of a dark brunette mascot for Chamberlain. “When I was going from the blonde to the brunette, Winona Ryder was a huge inspo for me,” she said. “I was looking at photos of her constantly, to kind of help me gain the courage to dye it brown.”

Last year, when Chamberlain attended the Academy Museum event for the first time, she did so in archival Giorgio Armani from the spring 1999 collection—a cool sage-green beaded dress with a metallic sheen. But last night, her cinematic look was all the more fitting because this year, Chamberlain made her acting debut in the film Forbidden Fruits.

When it came to her makeup for the evening, she wanted to balance the classic and the unexpected. “I do tend to prefer a goth edge—I have the dark circles and I have the creepy eye shape, or whatever, and I just like to lean into it,” she noted of her approach to makeup in general. “Something a little less beautiful and a little bit more haunting in the face.”

How would Chamberlain’s makeup artist, Lilly Keys, describe her look for the Academy Museum Gala? “A touch of gothic romance with softly smoked, shadowy eyes, luminous sculpted skin and a muted cinnamon lip,” Keys said. “Dark, delicate and effortlessly undone.” To achieve the look, Keys used Armani Beauty products including Luminous Silk Foundation, Eye Tint Liquid Eyeshadow, Lip Power Longwear Satin Lipstick, and Dolci Makeup Blush in the color “Cinnamon Blush.”

In the spirit of Hollywood happenings, Chamberlain—who has been on a hiatus from her podcast Anything Goes since April—also offered a teaser of what’s to come next for her as an actor.

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