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McKenna Grace standing in a red halter plunge-neck column gown at the Academy Museum Gala arrivals.
Amy Sussman / Getty Images

Mckenna Grace’s Minimalist Red Gala Look Recalls the Gown Jennifer Lawrence Wore to the 2011 Oscars

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McKenna Grace turned up to the 6th Annual Academy Museum Gala on October 17 in a saturated true-red column gown with a deep plunging V-neck and halter straps that tie at the neck, and the comparison wrote itself: Jennifer Lawrence’s tomato-red Calvin Klein gown from the 2011 Oscars, the Francisco Costa look that put her on the fashion map.

Close-up portrait of McKenna Grace in a red halter gown with long blonde hair and bangs at the Academy Museum Gala.
A close-up captures Grace’s blue eyes and the dramatic V-neckline of her red halter gown at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on October 17, 2026. Photo by Lisa O’Connor / AFP via Getty Images.

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Both leaned on the same formula. Bold color, clean body-conscious lines, blonde hair, no sequins or heavy embellishment doing the work.

McKenna Grace standing facing camera in a red plunging halter gown with long blonde hair at the Academy Museum Gala.
McKenna Grace poses head-on at the 6th Annual Academy Museum Gala in Los Angeles on October 17, 2026, wearing a deep-plunge red halter column gown. Photo by Amy Sussman / Getty Images.

Grace’s version pushes the plunge deeper and adds the halter neck, but the high-impact simplicity is the point. Fans on X landed in the same place, with comments like “Jennifer Lawrence vibes.”

Jennifer Lawrence in a red sleeveless gown with long blonde hair and dangling earrings at the 2011 Academy Awards arrivals.
At the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on February 27, 2011, Jennifer Lawrence steps onto the 83rd Annual Academy Awards arrivals in a tomato-red Calvin Klein gown designed by Francisco Costa — a look that became a career-defining fashion moment. Photo by Frazer Harrison / Getty Images.

The timing isn’t an accident. Grace, 20, plays Maysilee Donner in “The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping,” out November 20, and she’s roughly the age Lawrence was when the franchise made her a global star. The red-carpet confidence maps onto how Grace has described her character, who stays “fashionable, and put-together” even in danger: “they won’t see me as an animal… I’m going to look my best.”

McKenna Grace full-length in a red plunging halter column gown, standing before white curtain backdrop at the Academy Museum Gala.
Grace, seen full-length against white draped curtains, works the body-conscious silhouette of her true-red column gown at the Academy Museum Gala in Los Angeles. Photo by Lisa O’Connor / AFP via Getty Images.

Taylor Swift performed at the event, which took place at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures and honored Charlize Theron, John Carpenter, and Colman Domingo. The gala is often called the “Met Gala of the West Coast.” No early coverage named a designer for Grace’s gown.

Jennifer Lawrence in a floor-length red gown holding a white wrap and gold clutch on a red carpet, flanked by green hedges.
Jennifer Lawrence in a tomato-red Calvin Klein gown at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party held at Sunset Tower in West Hollywood on February 27, 2011. Photo by Craig Barritt / Getty Images.

It’s the second franchise-coded fashion moment in two weeks. On October 6 she attended a Hunger Games costume exhibition in Paris in a vintage Monique Lhuillier gown reworked to echo Katniss’s “Catching Fire” wedding dress.

Close-up portrait of McKenna Grace in a red halter gown with long blonde hair and bangs at the Academy Museum Gala.
A close-up captures Grace’s blue eyes and the dramatic V-neckline of her red halter gown at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on October 17, 2026. Photo by Lisa O’Connor / AFP via Getty Images.
McKenna Grace standing facing camera in a red plunging halter gown with long blonde hair at the Academy Museum Gala.
McKenna Grace poses head-on at the 6th Annual Academy Museum Gala in Los Angeles on October 17, 2026, wearing a deep-plunge red halter column gown. Photo by Amy Sussman / Getty Images.
Jennifer Lawrence in a red sleeveless gown with long blonde hair and dangling earrings at the 2011 Academy Awards arrivals.
At the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on February 27, 2011, Jennifer Lawrence steps onto the 83rd Annual Academy Awards arrivals in a tomato-red Calvin Klein gown designed by Francisco Costa — a look that became a career-defining fashion moment. Photo by Frazer Harrison / Getty Images.
McKenna Grace full-length in a red plunging halter column gown, standing before white curtain backdrop at the Academy Museum Gala.
Grace, seen full-length against white draped curtains, works the body-conscious silhouette of her true-red column gown at the Academy Museum Gala in Los Angeles. Photo by Lisa O’Connor / AFP via Getty Images.
Jennifer Lawrence in a floor-length red gown holding a white wrap and gold clutch on a red carpet, flanked by green hedges.
Jennifer Lawrence in a tomato-red Calvin Klein gown at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party held at Sunset Tower in West Hollywood on February 27, 2011. Photo by Craig Barritt / Getty Images.
Jennifer Lawrence in a red sleeveless column gown posing on the Oscars red carpet beside a large gold Oscar statue, smiling over her shoulder.
Arriving at the 83rd Academy Awards at Hollywood’s Kodak Theatre on February 27, 2011, Jennifer Lawrence wore the tomato-red Calvin Klein column gown by Francisco Costa that became one of the era’s defining red-carpet moments. Photo by Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images.
Jennifer Lawrence in a red sleeveless column gown holding a gold clutch on the Oscars red carpet in 2011.
Jennifer Lawrence arrives at the 83rd Academy Awards at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on February 27, 2011, wearing the tomato-red Calvin Klein column gown by Francisco Costa that became a career-defining fashion moment. Photo by Frazer Harrison / Getty Images.
McKenna Grace in a red halter column gown looking back over her shoulder at the Academy Museum Gala in Los Angeles.
McKenna Grace glances back over her shoulder in a deep-plunge red halter column gown at the 6th Annual Academy Museum Gala in Los Angeles on October 17. Photo by Mario Anzuoni / Reuters.
Jennifer Lawrence in a red low-cut Calvin Klein gown with long blonde wavy hair at the 2011 Oscars arrivals.
Jennifer Lawrence arriving at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on February 27, 2011, wearing the tomato-red Calvin Klein gown by Francisco Costa that became a career-defining fashion moment. Photo by Frazer Harrison / Getty Images.
McKenna Grace in a red plunging V-neck halter gown with long blonde hair at the Academy Museum Gala in Los Angeles.
McKenna Grace at the 6th Annual Academy Museum Gala in Los Angeles on October 17, wearing a deep-plunge red halter gown. Photo by Mario Anzuoni / Reuters.
A woman in a red sleeveless column gown holds a gold clutch on the Oscars red carpet, with a large gold Oscar statue behind her.
Arriving at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards at the Kodak Theatre on February 27, 2011, Jennifer Lawrence wore the tomato-red Calvin Klein by Francisco Costa column gown that became a defining moment in her style history. Photo by Jason Merritt / Getty Images.
McKenna Grace in profile view in a red halter gown with long blonde hair, hands clasped at waist, at the Academy Museum Gala.
Turned three-quarters to the side, Grace shows off the open back and halter-tie neckline of her minimalist red gown at the October 17, 2026 Academy Museum Gala. Photo by Amy Sussman / Getty Images.
McKenna Grace in a red halter gown looking back over her shoulder with a slight smile at the Academy Museum Gala.
Grace glances back over her shoulder against a draped backdrop at the Sixth Annual Academy Museum Gala, the open-back cut of her red gown fully visible. Photo by Mario Anzuoni / Reuters.
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