Harper’s Bazaar Women of the Year 2026: The Best-Dressed on the Red Carpet

British fashion magazine Harper’s Bazaar‘s annual Women of the Year Awards were presented on the evening of Thursday, 5 November 2026, at London’s historic Claridge’s hotel. Honouring the year’s standout women across film, theatre, sport, fashion and more, the night also delivered one of the season’s busiest red carpets. The two most talked-about looks of the evening belonged to Cate Blanchett and Mikey Madison.

The magazine’s own red carpet round-up and reports in the British press show British designers standing shoulder to shoulder with the great Paris houses. Below, we’ve gathered the night’s standout names, who wore what, and which award went to whom.

See Harper's Bazaar UK's red carpet gallery on Instagram

Cate Blanchett: a star map by Mary Katrantzou

Cate Blanchett, who collected the evening’s Theatre Actor of the Year award, chose a constellation-print design by Greek-born designer Mary Katrantzou. According to Harper’s Bazaar’s list, the dress is called “Devana”; Blanchett finished the look with Louis Vuitton’s Idylle Blossom earrings. As reported by Brit Brief, the actor received the award for her dual-role performance in the National Theatre’s Electra/Persona; it was presented to her by actor Elizabeth Debicki.

Harper’s Bazaar editor-in-chief Lydia Slater said of Blanchett: “She steals a scene and never does the same show twice.” The Katrantzou–Blanchett partnership is nothing new; the actor has previously favoured the designer’s printed gowns at major ceremonies.

See Mary Katrantzou's Cate Blanchett post on Instagram

Mikey Madison: a touch of old Hollywood with Dior

Mikey Madison, who won an Oscar for Anora, was named Film Actor of the Year, according to Brit Brief. Madison walked in a strapless gown from Dior, now under Jonathan Anderson. As reported by theFashionSpot and Red Carpet Fashion Awards, the silver-grey dress featured tone-on-tone florals worked into the fabric, a fitted corseted bodice and sculptural volume at the hip. Floral-embellished Dior sandals and Tiffany & Co. jewellery completed the look; styling was by Andrew Mukamal.

Madison’s choice was a fine example of letting craftsmanship lead through a pared-back silhouette: a single colour, the pattern woven into the fabric, and the emphasis on the cut.

Watch Mikey Madison's Dior look on Instagram

The night’s other standout looks

According to Harper’s Bazaar’s red carpet round-up and the names’ own posts, the evening’s other eye-catching looks were:

Letitia Wright: Prada and Cartier

Letitia Wright paired a textured black Prada top with a pale pink tiered skirt, finished with Cartier jewellery. One of the most-shared images of the night was Wright posing alongside Mikey Madison.

See Mikey Madison and Letitia Wright on Instagram

Gugu Mbatha-Raw: peach satin from Erdem

Gugu Mbatha-Raw wore a lace-trimmed, peach-toned satin dress from the Resort 2027 collection of Erdem, the label of Turkish-born designer Erdem Moralıoğlu, finishing it with metallic Manolo Blahnik sandals.

See Gugu Mbatha-Raw's post on Instagram

Dina Asher-Smith: Hermès simplicity

Athlete Dina Asher-Smith, who received the Sporting Inspiration Award, chose a slip-strap black Hermès dress and Boodles earrings.

See Dina Asher-Smith's post on Instagram

Bella Maclean: Louis Vuitton embellishment

Breakthrough Award winner Bella Maclean finished a silver-embroidered Louis Vuitton dress with Bvlgari jewellery.

See Bella Maclean's post on Instagram

Claudia Winkleman: Emilia Wickstead tailoring

Claudia Winkleman, named Television Icon, wore a black Emilia Wickstead jacket with the label’s Prince of Wales check “Emilienne” blouse.

See Emilia Wickstead's Claudia Winkleman post on Instagram

Amelia Dimoldenberg: Stella McCartney

Innovator Award winner Amelia Dimoldenberg arrived in a floor-length white Stella McCartney gown. The images below are from the portrait shoot she did with Harper’s Bazaar for the award.

See Amelia Dimoldenberg's Harper's Bazaar shoot on Instagram

And the rest

Elizabeth Debicki: A custom velvet gown with feather details by Susie Cave.
Taylor Russell: A black sequin-covered Dior dress.
Lesley Manville: A red caped gown from Alberta Ferretti.
Sarah Burton: A black suit from Givenchy, the house she leads.

Who took home the awards?

According to Brit Brief, the night’s awards included: the Designer Award for Sarah Burton, Artist of the Year for Sam Taylor-Johnson, the Sporting Inspiration Award for Dina Asher-Smith, Television Icon for Claudia Winkleman, the Innovator Award for Amelia Dimoldenberg, the Breakthrough Award for Bella Maclean and Model of the Year for Stephanie Cavalli. Glenn Close was honoured with the Icon Award. National Theatre leaders Indhu Rubasingham and Kate Varah shared the Changemaker Award.

See Harper's Bazaar UK's winners' portraits on Instagram

The view from Turkey

The name on the night’s list that interests us most was the Erdem gown worn by Gugu Mbatha-Raw. The label of Turkish-born designer Erdem Moralıoğlu remains one of the most reliable addresses on London’s red carpets and is also among this season’s nominees at The Fashion Awards. Givenchy creative director Sarah Burton’s designer award and the very existence of a Model of the Year category also show how much weight fashion carried on the night.

The Model of the Year award is also a reminder to young aspiring models that the industry is about more than the runway. Anyone curious about the first steps on that path can take a look at our guide to what it takes to become a model.

Sources

Image: Claridge’s Hotel in London, host of the awards night (representative image) — Quintin Soloviev, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

The Instagram posts in this article are official posts from the respective accounts (Harper’s Bazaar UK, Mary Katrantzou, Emilia Wickstead and the award winners) and are published using Instagram’s embed tool; all image rights belong to their owners.