The most daring Oscars red carpet looks from the past 50 years

Clark's purple bead-heavy ensemble wouldn't be out of place at a Mardi Gras celebration.

Hayes took home the award for his song "Theme from 'Shaft'" in this eye-catching suit.

Cher's Oscars looks are legendary, but her first memorable outfit was this bright yellow beaded set designed by her longtime collaborator Bob Mackie.

This is Williams' first entry on this list, but certainly not the last. Rocking a bikini to the Academy Awards cemented her place in red carpet history.

That year, Rowlands was nominated for her performance in "A Woman Under the Influence," which was written and directed by her husband. Although she didn't win, she made a splash with this sparkly gown.

While Keaton is famous for embracing menswear now, back in the '70s, this Richard Tylor design was considered "unexpected."

This year, Williams opted for an almost entirely sheer gown with a bustier top attached with a jewel. She also wore sparkly underwear and yet another fur coat.

Fawcett was the definition of '70s glam that night in this Stephen Burrows gown, which Paper City Mag called "glitzy" but "not in a crass way."

Welch was visible from a mile away thanks to this sequined catsuit and huge gold choker.

Parton's low-cut gown with a bedazzled bow was a daring choice.

The actress chose a halter-top dress with a plunging neckline.

Liberace's outfit was colorful and covered in beads. The more you looked at it, the more intricate it became.

The multi-layered, pink gown certainly was the most daring look of the year.

The actress and model paired the bold jacket with a striped gown.

Prince accepted an Oscar for "Purple Rain" this year.

"Remember when actor Don Ameche won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in Cocoon?'" CNN wrote in 2020. "Of course not; we were too enchanted by the woman presenting him with a statuette: Cher, in a bat-crazy mash-up of witchy showgirl and Halloween Big Bird."

"This fluffy black dress isn't that bad ... if you're an overemotional 15-year-old girl who listens to the Cure," Claire Suddath wrote for Time in 2011.

She accepted the Oscar in another Bob Mackie gown, which Harper's Bazaar calls "yet another iconic red carpet look."

The Old Hollywood actress' completely feathered skirt was paired with white gloves.

Basinger actually designed this gown herself, with one half resembling a white suit jacket with an embroidered golden sleeve and the other half a strapless gown with an almost shoulder-length white glove, all tied together with a full ball gown-level skirt.

Time called it "nothing short of a white hot mess."

Allen was glowing, just like her dress.

As It's Rosy wrote, her "Oscar dress felt borderline theatrical," which makes sense, as it was designed by costume designers Ruth Meyers and Bill Hargateat.

At first glance, Goldberg appeared to be wearing a deep eggplant skirt with a green and purple paisley top and a purple jacket — but in reality, her skirt was fully open and lined with lime green, and the shirt was actually a jumpsuit. She also wore matching heels and earrings.

According to The Guardian, the look was inspired by Disney.

He also added a cane in typical flamboyant Prince fashion.

Gardiner, a costume designer, designed the dress for the movie "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert," but it didn't make the cut. Instead, she wore the dress for Hollywood's biggest night and ended up taking home the Oscar for costume design.

"They all had my name on them, and I joined all the cards together with wire. Full length, and [it] was split almost to the waist because there was no other way of doing it. I had gold underwear on, and off I went," she told ABC News in 2017.

We really haven't seen a color like this on the red carpet, before or since.

The Chicago Tribune, on the other hand, called it her "coppery 'Snow White' gown." It was designed by Sophie Sitbon.

As Harper's Bazaar wrote, she completely "shut down" that year's ceremony in this revealing outfit.

Of Dion's John Galliano for Christian Dior tuxedo, Vogue wrote, "It was so bizarre, it was beautiful. It remains on every iteration of Oscars worst dressed lists, but almost two decades later, nobody has forgotten this act of fashion resistance. There should be one like it every year."

She accessorized the back-baring, floor-length Jean Paul Gaultier gown with gold jewelry.

"It is precisely this outlandishness that made the look so iconic," Marianna Cerini at CNN wrote in 2019. "The dress not only secured Björk's place as one of the entertainment business' most memorable personalities, it proved that even terrible dresses can make fashion history."

"Aside from her historical win, her Oscar-winning dress instantly became iconic and it arguably put designer Elie Saab, on the map," E! News wrote in 2020.

"It looks like Hilary thought her pale pink mini dress wasn't up to the occasion, so she looked around until — aha! — she found a piece of hot pink gauze to wrap around herself," Victoria Lowe at Cosmopolitan wrote in 2011.

"Everyone looked the same. Everyone had it down to such a perfect T…You get bored. That's when you have to say, 'I will be worst-dressed,'" the actress said, according to Time magazine.

The actress didn't let her broken foot stop her from showing off this Versace dress.

The criss-cross stitching and confusing bottom made for a truly daring look.

The dress was made by Dolce and Gabbana.

"Marion Cotillard took home the award for best actress at the 80th Annual Academy Awards dressed like a modern day mermaid in this intricately detailed, ivory-colored custom Jean Paul Gaultier gown," Chrystin Bunion at W wrote in 2017.

The look was designed by Lanvin.

"The voluminous gown has it all: Sparkle, ombré, countless floating layers of tulle, and pops of saturated color. Amongst the sea of black and metallic, this show-stopper topped my best-dressed list," wrote Violet Moon Gaynor of Elle.

Madonna was 52 years old when she rocked this bodysuit that left her "butt cheeks exposed," as The Hollywood Reporter wrote — and she looks great doing it.

Who could forget when Cohen "accidentally" spilled all of the ashes on Ryan Seacrest?

PopSugar called the dress, designed by L'Wren Scott, an "exquisite creation."

Although we've seen many bold looks in this list, there's something to be said for a simple color choice like this one — Nyong'o continues to be a breath of fresh air on the red carpet seven years after she made her Oscars debut in this plunging Prada gown.

Shayk's look was designed by Atelier Versace.

The strapless gown was custom-made by Ralph Lauren.

"For Janelle Monáe's first trip to the Academy Awards, she didn't hold back," Janelle Okwodu at Vogue wrote in 2017. "Arriving in an ornate Elie Saab Haute Couture fairy-tale gown and layers of diamonds, Monáe provided the evening with its most dramatic red-carpet moment."

Christian Dior crafted this avant-garde dress.

At the time, Christian Allaire at Vogue wrote that the Christian Siriano gown was "a play on masculinity and femininity, the look challenged the rigid Hollywood dress code and was boundary-pushing in all the right ways."

The Ralph Lauren gown was covered in 168,000 Swarovski crystals.