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‘The Julia Set’ Star Chase Infiniti Turns the Academy Museum Gala Carpet Into a Black-and-White Optical Illusion

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Few rising stars have become red carpet regulars as quickly as Chase Infiniti. Working with the styling duo Wayman and Micah, she has been described as one of the 2026 awards season’s most compelling dressers. Her friendship with Louis Vuitton’s Nicolas Ghesquière means she is almost always outfitted in the French house.

That reputation made her return to one of fashion’s biggest autumn nights an easy one to circle. The sixth annual Academy Museum Gala took place on October 17 in Los Angeles, a fundraiser nicknamed the “Met Gala of the West” and timed right after Fashion Month, which usually means runway-fresh looks. Honorees included Charlize Theron, Colman Domingo and John Carpenter, and the host committee featured Questlove, Judd Apatow, Teyana Taylor, Seth Rogen and Demi Moore.

It is also the event that helped launch her fashion reputation, so expectations were high. Chase Infiniti’s Academy Museum Gala look this year was a graphic, high-contrast Louis Vuitton gown that did not hold back.

The strapless gown has a fitted black-and-white striped bodice cinched with a black waistband. Below the waist, it flares into a dramatic peplum tier before falling into a sweeping, pleated skirt. In the carpet clip, she poses with both hands on her hips, and the vertical stripes fan out from her waist like folded paper.

Her beauty look stayed sleek to match. She wore a polished updo and a deep, dark lip that echoed the gown’s high-contrast palette, which kept all the focus on the silhouette. The result reads as architectural and playful at the same time, a trick that few gowns pull off.

This is the second straight year she has worn Louis Vuitton to the gala. At the 5th annual event, she wore a fresh green custom gown with a strapless design and a romantically ruched, boned bodice. W Magazine noted at the time that the look seemed more than ready for Oscars Sunday.

Where last year’s dress was soft and spring-like, this one is graphic and sharp. That swing between romantic and structured has become part of her signature, and it keeps people watching her carpet arrivals.

Her red carpet run grew out of a big screen breakthrough. She made her film debut in Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘One Battle After Another,’ playing the daughter that Leonardo DiCaprio’s character searches for after her disappearance. The film went on to earn 13 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture.

Infiniti herself landed a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy and her first BAFTA nomination for Best Actress. She was also honored with the Breakthrough Performance prize at the National Board of Review Gala, where she wore a sheer, fishnet-style Oscar de la Renta dress dotted with tiny pearls.

Louis Vuitton has dressed her for many of the season’s biggest moments. At the Golden Globes, she wore a stunning embellished silver corset gown from the house, and at her first Academy Awards in March, she chose a lilac sleeveless gown with a sweetheart neckline and a cascade of tiered ruffles, paired with De Beers jewelry.

She also wore a custom electric-blue Louis Vuitton gown with dense smocking in the bodice and sculptural ruffles at the Series Mania Festival in March. Across all of them, the through line is shape, with structured bodices and exaggerated volume doing most of the work.

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Her gala appearance comes as she gears up for her next project. She is the star of the upcoming series ‘The Testaments,’ and has already walked its purple carpet in a curve-hugging corset dress. That makes the gala a good moment to keep her name front and center between projects.

For a young actor whose career took off with a debut role, balancing the film awards circuit with fashion visibility is a smart play. Every strong carpet moment keeps the conversation going.

The 2026 gala was described as comparatively low-key next to last year’s more daring fashion moments, which made a graphic, striped gown stand out even more. Infiniti’s look is bold without being overdone, built entirely on contrast and shape rather than embellishment.

It is also a reminder of how much of a carpet’s impact comes from a single clear idea. Here, the idea is simple and instantly readable, and it photographs beautifully from every angle.

What do you think of Chase Infiniti’s black-and-white Louis Vuitton gown at the 2026 Academy Museum Gala?

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