Malala Yousafzai Turns Heads in Sequinned Ralph Lauren at the Oscars

Tonight on the 2023 Oscars red carpet, women's rights advocate Malala Yousafzai stunned in a custom Ralph Lauren gown. The dress, which features an integrated train and matching hijab, is comprised completely of silver sequins, perfectly balancing recent fashion week trends with a timeless color and silhouette. And she cinched the look with an emerald flower ring from Santi Jewels, made up of four seventeenth century emeralds surrounding a portrait-cut diamond.  

Yousafzai is celebrating the nomination of Stranger at the Gate, of which she was an executive producer, for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film. Although she is no stranger to film, having already starred in the 2015 documentary I Am Malala, it is her first time attending Hollywood's biggest night—but likely far from her last. Indeed, Yousafzai launched her own production company, Extracurricular Productions, just last year, and is planning on releasing a slate of content in line with her empowering work in politics and social justice. 

"I'm really excited to work with women and young people to reflect the world as they see it," she told ABC. "So, I would be bringing comedy, documentaries, TV shows, movies—everything. And it has the power to connect people from around the world, and I want to focus on young people."

We have absolutely no doubt that Yousafzai, already a role model to humans everywhere, will continue to inspire people with her perspective and her commitment to feminism, equality, and social justice more broadly.

And yet another huge takeaway from her appearance on the champagne carpet tonight? The star is most excited to watch Rihanna's landmark performance and to spot Elvis star Austin Butler—wowing us all with how simultaneously fashionable, astute, and relatable she can be.