Inside Vanity Fair’s 2026 Oscar Party at LACMA: Hollywood’s Most Anticipated After-Hours Celebration

Oscar night rarely ends when the final award is handed out. In Los Angeles, the evening continues across a handful of coveted invitations, and none carry quite the same cultural weight as the Vanity Fair Oscar Party. On March 15, 2026, Vanity Fair Global Editorial Director Mark Guiducci welcomed Hollywood’s most recognizable figures to the magazine’s annual celebration at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art after the Academy Awards ceremony concluded.

The evening began earlier with a private dinner attended by roughly 100 guests who gathered to watch the Academy Awards together before the celebration expanded into the larger party that has become synonymous with Oscar night itself. As the ceremony wrapped across town, the red carpet at LACMA began to fill with actors, filmmakers, and cultural tastemakers making their next appearance of the night.

Kylie Jenner, Bella Hadid, Nicole Kidman, Nick Jonas, Elle Fanning, Kim Kardashian, Hudson Williams, Connor Storrie, and Jacob Elordi were among the notable arrivals, joining a cross section of newly minted Oscar winners, nominees, and industry leaders who treat the Vanity Fair party as the final gathering place of the evening. Cameras flashed as guests made their way through the museum grounds, where contemporary architecture and sculptural art provided a striking backdrop for Hollywood’s most photographed arrivals.

For decades, Vanity Fair’s Oscar Party has served as the unofficial continuation of the Academy Awards, a place where the formal ceremony gives way to celebration. By the time guests reached LACMA, many of the evening’s most talked about winners were already arriving, bringing with them the energy of the ceremony that had just concluded.

Among those honored at the 2026 Academy Awards were Michael B. Jordan, who won Actor in a Leading Role for Sinners, Jessie Buckley, who received Actress in a Leading Role for Hamnet, and Amy Madigan, recognized for Actress in a Supporting Role for Weapons. Their wins set the tone for a ceremony that celebrated both established names and new creative voices across the industry.

Elsewhere across the awards, Chris Appelhans, Maggie Kang, and Michelle Wong earned recognition for the animated feature KPop Demon Hunters, while Kate Hawley received the Oscar for Costume Design for Frankenstein. Documentary Feature Film went to David Borenstein, Helle Faber, and Pavel Talankin for Mr Nobody Against Putin. Ludwig Goransson took home Original Score for Sinners, and Joe Letteri received the award for Visual Effects for Avatar: Fire and Ash, among other honors announced throughout the evening.

The Vanity Fair party has long been the place where these winners arrive moments after leaving the ceremony, often still holding their newly engraved statues as photographers capture the night’s most circulated images.

Inside the party, the environment balanced museum architecture with a carefully staged sense of celebration. Guests moved between lounge seating, open air spaces, and dining areas while continuing conversations that began earlier in the evening at the awards ceremony itself.

Chef Evan Funke of Beverly Hills restaurant Funke oversaw the evening’s culinary program, serving a menu that included Lasagna alla Cantonese, Mediterranean sea bass, and grilled prime ribeye. His celebrated pasta preparations appeared throughout the night, alongside desserts such as custom chocolate bark, cannoli filled with candied orange and chocolate chip cream, and a selection of gelato flavors offered to departing guests.

Wine selections included Modicum’s O’Shaughnessy “Oakville” 2024 Sauvignon Blanc and the “Hestan” 2017 Red Wine Blend. As the party continued into the later hours, familiar comfort food made its appearance as well. Domino’s Pizza arrived in custom slice boxes, while In-N-Out burgers circulated among guests as a nod to the city’s late night dining rituals.

At one point during the transition between dinner and the larger party, Grammy Award winning musician Jon Batiste delivered a surprise performance, offering a moment of live music that shifted the evening from ceremony viewing to full celebration.

What continues to make the Vanity Fair Oscar Party unique is its mix of worlds that rarely intersect so fluidly. Film stars mingle with designers, artists, and media leaders in a setting that feels less like an industry event and more like a carefully curated cultural gathering.

Throughout the evening, the museum’s setting added an element of visual drama. Sculptural works from LACMA’s collection framed portions of the event, reminding guests that the celebration unfolded inside one of Los Angeles’ most significant cultural institutions.

As the night stretched into the early morning hours, guests began making their departures, some heading to smaller gatherings across the city while others returned home after a long awards season. Before leaving, many stopped by the departure lounge, where they were presented with Sozni Pashmina shawls by Swadesh, handcrafted pieces rooted in Kashmiri textile tradition.