10 Kristen Stewart Red Carpet Looks That Challenged Norms For Women’s Fashion

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Across Kristen Stewart’s career, the actress has made one thing clear to me: she doesn’t mind taking chances. Whether it’s starring in a high-profile vampire love story or portraying Princess Diana, K-Stew is always up for a challenge when it comes to her next role. And over the years, she has also proven to be an innovator in the realm of Hollywood red carpets too, with a host of jaw-dropping fashion moments that allow the actress to feel comfortable in her own skin, too. 

Red carpets come and go all the time in an actor’s career, but she and her styling teams have really made it count with the ensembles she’s stepped out in to promote the best Kristen Stewart movies. While so many women color inside the lines by wearing ball gown and sparkly dresse after ball gown and sparkly dresse, K-Stew has done that, but so much more to communicate her personality and therein challenged the norms of what is considered cool for women’s fashion in his arena. (We previously covered how Billie Eilish challenged norms for women’s fashion, but the talents have completely different styles). Check out these fab looks from Stewart: 

LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 12: Actress Kristen Stewart attends the premiere of "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2" at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on November 12, 2012 in Los Angeles, California.

(Image credit: Photo by Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic)

She Wore A See-Through Gown For Breaking Dawn Part 2 (And Then Auctioned It Off For A Good Cause) 

Let’s start with the end of Stewart’s Twilight days where she wore a sheer gown for the Los Angeles premiere of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 back in 2012. Prior to this, Stewart kept things pretty straight-laced on red carpets, so stepping out in a nude (and very lacy) dress for the last Twilight movie felt like a moment of coming-of-age for her. The best thing about it is she later auctioned off the iconic piece of clothing to raise money for victims of Hurricane Sandy (per EW). I can’t believe it’s been over a decade since the Twilight saga ended

NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 03: Actress Kristen Stewart attends the 'Certain Women' premiere during the 54th New York Film Festival at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center on October 3, 2016 in New York City.

(Image credit: Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic)

K-Stew Wears Dark Red Suit And Skips A Shirt At 2016’s New York Film Festival 

Jumping four years, the difference in Stewart between these first two looks is astounding. Following the Twilight movies, the actor starred in a string of independent films, including 2016’s Certain Women alongside Laura Dern, Michelle Williams and Lily Gladstone. 

When the movie screened at the New York Film Festival, Stewart opted for a dark red matching suit and lace up heels. She challenged norms by skipping out on a shirt entirely and wearing a long gold necklace across her chest. She also rocked short blonde platinum hair that was slicked back. As K-Stew often does, she blurred the lines between classically female and male looks by pulling from both. 

NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 14: Actress Kristen Stewart attends the 54th New York Film Festival -

(Image credit: Brent N. Clarke/FilmMagic)

The Actress Made A Lace Crop Top And Safety Pins All The Rage For Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk Premiere 

Another all-time great look came just a week later when Stewart was back on the red carpet at the New York Film Festival in another banger fashion ensemble for the premiere of Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk

The actress looked like a pop star in a frilly lace crop top (with a single long sleeve) and white trousers ridden with cleverly placed safety pins all over them. Her short blonde hair had a ton of volume this time around and she wore bright pink eyeliner and blush. Again, it’s completely different from the last look and feels like an art piece. I promise you, no one else looked as good and took more chances with a fashion look that night than her.  

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 20: Kristen Stewart attends the "120 Battements Par Minutes (120 Beats Per Minute)" screening during the 70th annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 20, 2017 in Cannes, France.

(Image credit: Toni Anne Barson/FilmMagic)

Kristen Stewart Brings A Gender-Bent Edge To Cannes In 2017

K-Stew pushed the envelope once again at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival when attending the premiere for that year’s big winner of the Palme d’Or prize, 120 Beats Per Minute. Stewart looked amazing in her blonde buzzcut, the same look she had for horror flick, Underwater. For the event, she paired her short hair with a metallic tweed pinafore dress and strapless bandeau bra that was fresh off the runaway from Karl Lagerfeld’s most recent Chanel collection at the time (and inspired by Ancient Greece). 

TORONTO, ONTARIO - SEPTEMBER 07: Kristen Stewart attends the "Seberg" premiere during the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival at Ryerson Theatre on September 07, 2019 in Toronto, Canada.

(Image credit: Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images)

The Actress Wears A Crop Top Suit At 2019’s TIFF 

In 2019, Kristen Stewart portrayed French New Wave icon Jean Seberg for Seberg. While promoting the flick at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), she showed up to make another unique fashion statement. The actress loves herself a crop top, but for this look, she went business with it by wearing a cropped shirt that resembles a suit jacket with a silky necktie and brooch and some flared plaid pants. She also wore a heavy cat eye and side-swept two-toned hair. 

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 13: Kristen Stewart attends The 2021 Met Gala Celebrating In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on September 13, 2021 in New York City.

(Image credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)

Kristen Stewart Went To The 2021 Met Gala In Barbiecore Before It Was A Viral Trend

Barbiecore will always be remembered as the look of 2023, as tons of celebs wore the trend on red carpets and when Greta Gerwig’s Barbie hit theaters over the summer, the audiences were often a sea of pink, as well. But back in 2021, Kristen Stewart got a jump on the trend at the 2021 Met Gala before everyone else did, describing it to Vogue as “refined, rockabilly Barbie”. She wore her blonde hair in a retro ponytail that was totally giving Barbie along with a floral blouse and white pants (both from Chanel). 

BERLIN, GERMANY - FEBRUARY 25: Kristen Stewart attends the Berlinale closing night and Golden Bear Award ceremony red carpet during the 73rd Berlinale International Film Festival Berlin at Berlinale Palast on February 25, 2023 in Berlin, Germany.

(Image credit: Tristar Media/WireImage)

K-Stew Puts Her Own Spin On The Sheer Dress Trend

On red carpets lately, celebrities have been showing up in sheer dresses all the time, and Kristen Stewart got on the bandwagon in early 2023 for the Berlinale International Film Festival. Along with having her hair styled in a mullet and pink eyeshadow, she wore a sheer black dress with clever knit details, including some well-placed pockets over her chest. It’s the perfect mix of suggestive and classy that K-Stew has displayed many times before. 

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 01: Kristen Stewart attends The 2023 Met Gala Celebrating "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line Of Beauty" at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 01, 2023 in New York City.

(Image credit: John Shearer/WireImage)

Stewart Shows Up In A Stylish Suit And Minimal Makeup For Met Gala 2023 

While Kristen Stewart has opened up before about the pressure to come out in the LGBTQ+ community, these days the actress comes off completely comfortable in her own skin as a queer woman and expresses herself through her red carpet looks. During 2023’s Met Gala, Stewart broke her own norms with fashion by skipping the heavy eyeshadow and eyeliner we usually see her in and going mostly fresh faced in a Chanel black-and-white suit.

BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 05: Kristen Stewart seen at the Los Angeles Premiere of A24's

(Image credit: Eric Charbonneau/Getty Images for A24)

K-Stew Rocks No-Pants Trend For Love Lies Bleeding Premiere

Early this year, Kristen Stewart starred in a wild bodybuilding movie for A24 called Love Lies Bleeding. When attending the Los Angeles premiere in March, she wore a super high-cut black bodysuit with tights and black heels and a black tuxedo jacket off her shoulders. In contrast to the prior look, once again Stewart showed us that her fashion sense is undefinable, and she can make any look work. 

BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 09: Kristen Stewart attends the CHANEL and Charles Finch Annual Pre-Oscar Dinner at The Polo Lounge at The Beverly Hills Hotel on March 09, 2024 in Beverly Hills, California.

(Image credit: Jon Kopaloff/WireImage)

The Actress Wore A Bra And Boxers At A Pre-Oscar Party

Oh, I cannot wait for whatever upcoming looks from Kristen Stewart will be next. Sure, the actress has said if it wasn’t for being a Hollywood actress she’d wear the same thing everyday, so thank goodness she is. She always slays! Let’s end on this serve: Stewart made wearing a bra and boxer shorts at a Beverly Hills Pre-Oscar dinner fashionable just a few days after the Love Lies Bleeding premiere. 

K-Stew is definitely one of a kind on red carpets and fashion senses like hers remind me and the world that we don’t need to fit into one mold in order to look incredible. And, her looks are certainly influencing the fashion world, as well. 

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