The red carpet is so much more than fabulous gowns on famous people. It reflects the styles and values of the time, and has become a platform for often trenchant social statements. Red Carpet: Oscars presents over ninety years of fashion worn at the awards ceremony since its inception in 1929. From ready-to-wear to haute couture, it charts what stars and invitees wore across the decades, as well as the emergence of stylists, the commercialization of the red carpet and how fashion has shaped Hollywood.

The book opens with a foreword by Cate Blanchett and an introduction by Giorgio Armani, and then goes on to showcase hundreds of looks across almost a century. Each year is introduced with a short text explaining the era's fashion trends as well as the social and political influences of the day, along with carefully curated images of the most iconic and inspiring outfits.