On Sunday 24 February, the Dolby Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles hosted the 91st Academy Awards with aplomb (if you’re interested, you can follow all of the Oscars action live here, and check out the best red carpet fashion and beauty looks). 

Naturally, Pose’s Billy Porter wanted to make a statement with his 2019 Oscars look — and he certainly accomplished his goal with his custom-made Christian Siriano tuxedo gown, which quickly became a top trend on Twitter and Google.

Sharing a photo of his dress on Instagram, Porter wrote: “When you come to the Oscars, you must dress up. Thanks @csiriano for creating this custom couture masterpiece. @oscarheyman you have outdone yourselves once again with your iconic jewels.”

And, in just a few short hours, the picture has clocked up almost 140K likes on the social media platform. Phew!

Check it out:

Explaining the inspiration behind his elegant look, Porter told Vogue: “When you’re black and you’re gay, one’s masculinity is in question. I dealt with a lot of homophobia in relation to my clothing choices. [Even] when I had my first working contract at A&M Records, I was silent for a long time.

“Now I’m in a space where, being on Pose, I’m invited to red carpets and I have something to say through clothes. My goal is to be a walking piece of political art every time I show up. To challenge expectations.”

He added: “What is masculinity? What does that mean? Women show up every day in pants, but the minute a man wears a dress, the seas part.”

While predicting the Oscars winners gets harder each year, the strongest Best Picture contenders for 2019 are the films Roma and The Favourite.

Olivia Colman and Glenn Close, meanwhile, are neck and neck for the Best Actress prize. 

The winners will be revealed later tonight at the 91st annual Academy Awards gala. Follow the action live on Stylist with our rolling blog here.

Images: Getty