Zoe Saldaña Outfits That Missed The Mark

Hollywood star Zoe Saldaña has been in the industry for more than two decades, so it's unsurprising that she's had some fashion mishaps over the years. After all, with the number of industry events she's attended and the amount of paparazzi pics that have been taken of her, there's absolutely no way for the "Emilia Pérez" star to not have a bad fashion day in the spotlight.

One thing we can say about Saldaña's fashion choices that have missed the mark is that they're in no way horrific — we've witnessed some horrible celebrity fashion over the years, and most of Saldaña's bad fashion moments are just bland, boring, or poorly tailored. Still, the actor seems to really like her style journey. "Fashion is something that I enjoy – it's an art," the actor told Harper's Bazaar in 2023. "It's not a form that I use or exploit, I've grown to always respect it – from backstage to the stage." 

While we have no doubt that Saldaña has an appreciation for the art form, the actor has had quite a few bad fashion moments, especially in recent years, as she seems to be taking more sartorial risks. And well ... while we love a risk-taker, Saldaña is proof of how fashion can backfire, and for stars like her, that often happens at entertainment's biggest events.

When Zoe Saldaña showed up at the 2024 Met Gala, we couldn't help but be disappointed. With a theme like "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion" and the dress code "The Garden of Time," we undeniably expected more from the actor. However, Saldaña, who was dressed in Chloé, showed up in a nude maxi dress that was definitely giving beach vibes instead of screaming "fashion's biggest night." Pairing it with boots was an odd choice, especially because the dress could have been accessorized in a fairy-like manner, which would make it more appropriate for the theme.

Speaking of the choice, Saldaña said, "What I wanted to show with this look is how you can also dress Chemena's [Kamali, Chloé's creative director] dresses up, if you choose to" (via Elle). However, we're not too sure Saldaña and her team executed it well, which is why the actor made it onto our list of the worst-dressed celebs at the 2024 Met Gala. The "Avatar" star didn't look horrible by any means — after all, Saldaña is stunning, and she looks beautiful in anything — but her outfit definitely missed the mark.

Anyone who's been following Zoe Saldaña's career knows just how important the 2025 Academy Awards were for her. The actor took home the best supporting actress award for her work in the 2024 film "Emilia Pérez," marking her first-ever Oscars win. However, her choice of dress for the night was anything but Academy Awards-worthy.

For the big night, Saldaña wore a Saint Laurent dress that had not only a questionable silhouette but also a mismatch of materials that just didn't work well together. To make things worse, Saldaña paired the dress with sheer black gloves, adding a third element to a look that was already a bit confusing. But hey, the night worked out in her favor, and that's truly all that matters in the end.

When Zoe Saldaña showed up on the red carpet of the Palm Springs International Film Festival Film Awards in 2025, her dress had so much potential. The rich burgundy color looked stunning on the actor, and the asymmetrical top portion made the look fun and modern — until we saw the bottom of the dress, that is.

The dress was a design by fashion icon Victoria Beckham, whose style transformation is nothing short of stunning, which is why it's even more surprising that this piece found its way into her collection. The dress features a sequined, royal-blue bottom that clashes with the style, material, and color of the rest of the dress. Saldaña looks gorgeous nonetheless, but the dress would have been much better without the bottom detailing.

In November 2024, Zoe Saldaña was spotted in New York City in an oversized pantsuit that looked like she needed to change and had borrowed clothing from someone else's closet. Now, don't get us wrong: Oversized everything was 2024's biggest trend, but Saldaña's interpretation of it fell short.

The actor not only combined oversized pants with an oversized blazer but also buttoned the blazer up, creating a silhouette that truly looked like she had borrowed the pantsuit of someone with a different body shape and decided to rock it on a night out. Had she worn the blazer open with a structured top underneath, this look would have been much better. Her heels were barely peeking out, and accessories were sorely missing, making this one of the worst outfits we've ever seen the actor wear.

Zoe Saldaña walked the red carpet of the 2024 Academy Museum Gala in a Harris Reed dress that left us questioning whether the design was actually finished or still in the making — never a good thing to wonder when the camera lights are flashing. The entire outfit looked like a DIY project, and it resulted in the "Avengers: Endgame" actor being one of the worst-dressed stars at the 2024 Academy Museum Gala.

From her waist up, the dress had plenty of potential, but everything below it looked like an unfinished mess — and that's us being kind. There's no denying that Reed is a great designer, but even the best fashion pros have a bad day. But hey, without the lace portion and the droopy front part, this could have easily been a best-dressed moment, which proves that in fashion, there's a fine line between a genius creation and an absolute disaster.

With her freshly won award, Zoe Saldaña was surely thrilled to attend the 2025 Vanity Fair Oscar Party. However, her after-party look was just as bland as her main outfit of the night. The actor wore Saint Laurent for her second look, too, which made its lack of appeal so heartbreaking. That said, it was a subtle improvement from her main Oscars dress, but we still have quite a few notes.

Between the sheer top and the high-low skirt, the dress once again seemed to be all over the place, not to mention that black tights are generally an odd red-carpet choice. Moreover, the combination of edgy and ruffly pink didn't work that well together. Had she ditched the tights, and had the skirt portion been more glamorous and less costume-like, this look would have suited the star's big night much better.

In 2023, Zoe Saldaña attended the 2023 Red Sea International Film Festival for a screening of her film "The Absence of Eden." For the occasion, the star wore a Bottega Veneta design, and while we love the particular shade of mint on the actor, the cut of the dress didn't do her any favors.

In fact, the dress photographed quite oddly, especially the skirt. With its uneven ends and multitude of layers, the dress looked like it had a previous life as a tablecloth. Had the skirt been a simpler design, the top portion of the dress, which actually looked great on the actor, would have made this outfit an incredible choice, especially with the actor's slicked-back hair and statement jewelry. Alas, we can only critique what she ultimately presented.

For the world premiere of "Avengers: Endgame," Zoe Saldaña decided to go with an eye-catching hot-pink look. Now, when we say eye-catching, that doesn't necessarily mean great. The star walked the red carpet in a pleated Givenchy look that simply combined too many different elements at the same time.

Between the single sleeve, the choppy hemline, and the peplum detail, too much was going on, and it looked like the designer simply couldn't decide what to include and what to leave on the design-room floor. Having said that, we adore the way the skirt was executed, as the pleated material falls perfectly. However, in order for the bottom portion to have had the moment it deserved, the top part needed to be way simpler.

Many of the Zoe Saldaña looks that ended up on this list seem amateur or unfinished, and the dress she wore on the 2024 Cannes Film Festival red carpet is no different. The star showed up to the festival to promote "Emilia Pérez," but her look wasn't worthy of an award-winning actor.

Saldaña showed up in a vintage Yves Saint Laurent dress with bows — a trend that has been popular for the past couple of years. However, the thing with bows is that they can easily look costumey, and that's precisely the vibe this Saldaña look evoked. The added train looked unfinished, and the lower bow seemed like something that was added to the look to utilize leftover material. We love vintage fashion, but this is a piece Saldaña didn't need to bring back. Suffice it to say, the star ended up being one of the worst-dressed celebs on the 2024 Cannes Film Festival red carpet.

We rarely see blazers combined with maxi skirts, and this is why: They swallow your silhouette and tend to look bland together. Zoe Saldaña wore a combination of the two in gray for the 2024 premiere of "Emilia Pérez" in Turin, Italy, and had we not known that this was a premiere look, we certainly would have never guessed so.

While the blazer and maxi skirt combo certainly isn't our favorite, it also doesn't look awful on the star. However, it definitely doesn't fit the occasion, and it even ages the actor a bit, as it's an outdated aesthetic. Had Saldaña combined the blazer with a matching miniskirt, this outfit would have been fun and youthful, giving her the dash of nonchalance the ensemble needed.

When Zoe Saldaña showed up at the premiere of "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2," we couldn't help but think just how much potential her dress had. The orange color was a major statement and a shade that looked stunning on the actor, but unfortunately, the sequins were a very dramatic and daring combo — and it just didn't look quite right paired with the bright color and the odd square patch of sequins.

The Emilio Pucci design was definitely giving a more modern take on flapper fashion, but that square at the center of the front and back just didn't work. Had that patch been connected all around, the look would have been more cohesive, but without that touch, the dress ended up being another Saldaña look that missed the mark.

In 2010, Zoe Saldaña attended the Academy Awards in a purple Givenchy gown that combined the very popular ombré trend of the period with sequins and dramatic ruffles. On their own, each of these trends is a showstopper, but they were frankly so atrocious when combined that they ended up giving Saldaña a spot on our list of the worst Oscars looks of all time.

Between the fact that the ombré effect could have been executed better — the transitions look like an at-home dip-dye experiment — and the unexplainable choice of gold sequins that don't tie in with anything else on the dress, this is by far one of the most surprising fashion mishaps the star has given us over the years. Sure, we've seen some looks that shocked us, but at least they were daring and bold, unlike this dress that looks like it belongs at a late-2000s prom.

In 2016, Zoe Saldaña gave us something new for the American Music Awards, and for that, we applaud her. The actor showed up on the red carpet in a pair of classic black pants and an off-the-shoulder Monse dress on top of them. The gown had an ultra-high slight that we enjoyed, but it still evoked the Y2K dress-over-pants trend that we thought we'd left in the past for good.

Anyone who lived through that period knows how hard it is to style the trend without it looking ridiculous. Saldaña's interpretation had potential, but the top was just too long, and the actor's shape was completely lost in it. This isn't even to mention that the patriotic pattern is an odd choice for a music event — even if it is the American Music Awards — and the black pants didn't match the rest of the look at all.

Sometimes a dress is a wonderful work of art that simply doesn't match the person who's wearing it, and that's exactly how we feel about Zoe Saldaña's pink dress at the 2016 LACMA Art + Film Gala. For the event, the "Crossroads" star wore a stunning Gucci gown with a funky print of insects and snakes on it, but she sadly didn't pull it off.

The dress simply didn't feel like an authentic choice for the star; rather, it read as an attempt to make headlines. The hemline was slightly too long on her — it was at the awkward stage where it didn't seem intentional, and it certainly threw off Saldaña's posing skills. This type of dress seems like a great choice for an editorial photoshoot or a music video, but not so much a red-carpet event. With its funky and whimsical aesthetic, it needs a fashionista who can pull it off, and the actor, unfortunately, isn't the best choice. The way she carried it perhaps also affected our reception of it, as she didn't pose in ways that seemed avant garde or confident.

When Zoe Saldaña walked the red carpet at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, our jaw was on the floor for all the wrong reasons. The actor wore an Armani Privé dress that was giving us major Christmas energy even though the festival took place in May. While the bodice was a pearlescent white, the bottom part of the dress had red stripes on it, resulting in a very candy cane-like pattern. In another color combination, this dress would have been way more appropriate, but in red and white, it only makes us think how it would have made a wonderful holiday party choice. 

Now, for more celebrity fashion faux pas, check out these Sabrina Carpenter outfits that missed the mark.