Awards season has a way of producing moments that transcend the ceremony itself, and the 2026 Vanity Fair Oscar Party delivered one of the most talked-about celebrity red carpet looks of the entire season. Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams, co-stars of the breakout HBO Max hockey drama Heated Rivalry, arrived at the after-party on March 16 in coordinating sheer tops from two different luxury houses and immediately became the image that defined Oscars 2026 style. The fact that it was entirely unplanned made the moment even better.
Who Are Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams?
Storrie and Williams play Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander in "Heated Rivalry," a hockey drama that became a global sensation after landing on Crave and HBO Max in November 2025. The show, which follows two closeted hockey stars navigating a decade of secret trysts, built a devoted and vocal fan base almost immediately. By the time awards season rolled around in early 2026, the two lead actors had already become one of the most photographed pairs on the circuit, presenting at the Golden Globes and serving as torchbearers for the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan before the Oscars weekend capped their extraordinary run.
What Did Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams Wear to the 2026 Oscars After-Party?
Both men arrived on the Vanity Fair silver carpet in sheer tops that, despite coming from entirely different houses, read as a deliberate fashion statement. Williams, who had already attended the 98th Academy Awards ceremony earlier that evening in a custom all-black Balenciaga suit, changed into a second bespoke Balenciaga look for the after-party. Stylist Anastasia Walker dressed him in a sleeveless tulle top, completely sheer, with a high neckline and a carpet-grazing train, tucked into straight-leg trousers. A diamond-encrusted Bulgari Serpenti Bangle replaced the watch he had worn to the ceremony.
Storrie, who was not at the ceremony itself, made his entrance at the after-party in a skintight, see-through long-sleeve turtleneck from Saint Laurent's Fall 2026 Men's collection in a warm-toned brown, paired with high-rise chocolate-colored trousers. He frosted his neck with a diamond Tiffany and Co. necklace and threaded his arm through a brown Saint Laurent fur stole in place of a cape or train.
Did Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams Plan Their Matching Looks?
According to everyone involved: no. Stylist Anastasia Walker confirmed it herself on Instagram, posting a photo of both sheer tops side by side with the caption "Me and [Storrie's stylist James Yardsley] didn't plan this lol." The moment was, as Vogue described it, kismet.
The two had actually posed on separate ends of the silver carpet before eventually finding each other. Videos of the reunion, which involved Williams visibly running toward his co-star once he spotted him, went viral almost immediately. For a cast and a show that already had audiences convinced there was something more to their dynamic, the accidental twinning in translucent luxury fashion felt like the universe offering confirmation.
The Sheer Trend That Took Over Oscars 2026 Style
Storrie and Williams did not arrive at the sheer trend in a vacuum. The 2026 Vanity Fair Oscar Party as a whole pivoted hard into see-through fashion, with the "Heated Rivalry" co-stars sitting at the center of a broader Oscars 2026 style story about skin, exposure, and the after-party as a space where celebrity red carpet looks get to breathe differently than they do at the ceremony itself.
Other sheer standouts from the same silver carpet included:
- Zoe Saldana in a long-sleeved royal blue lace dress by Saint Laurent, styled by Petra Flannery
- Renate Reinsve in a gothic mesh gown by Louis Vuitton with visible stitching and a three-tiered diamond choker
- Alison Brie in a beaded sheer skirt and satin bodice by Yara Shoemaker spring 2026 couture
- Suki Waterhouse in a Tamara Ralph design that replaced a traditional top entirely with two gold crystal peacock feathers
Hudson Williams's Full Fashion Arc Across Oscars Night
Williams was the only "Heated Rivalry" cast member in attendance at the 98th Academy Awards ceremony, making his Oscars night a genuine two-act fashion story. The all-black custom Balenciaga suit he wore to the Dolby Theatre was sleek and controlled, the kind of look that photographs well under ceremony lighting without drawing attention away from the evening's honorees. His stylist later noted he had spent the day doing yoga in it because the fabric was so stretchy, which says everything about how wearable even the most elevated Oscars 2026 style can be when the right house is involved.
The after-party switch into the sheer Balenciaga tulle look was the reveal. Going from a structured black suit to a translucent, cape-trailing blouse in the same evening demonstrated exactly the kind of fashion range that builds a stylist relationship into a long-term house alignment. Williams also made his public red carpet debut with girlfriend Katelyn Larson at the after-party, having first shared their relationship on Valentine's Day. She arrived in a sheer dress of her own, making the coordination extend beyond just the two co-stars.
Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams as a Celebrity Red Carpet Force
The Oscars after-party moment was not a one-off. Throughout the 2025 to 2026 awards season and beyond, Storrie and Williams have been building the kind of fashion profile that places them firmly in the front row tier of celebrity dressing. Both have attended Dsquared2's Fall 2026 runway show, and Storrie has been a regular presence at Saint Laurent events, cementing what looks to be a formal house alignment. Williams's ongoing relationship with Balenciaga, which has now produced multiple bespoke looks across the season, tells a parallel story.
Why Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams Are the Celebrity Red Carpet Duo to Watch
Oscars 2026 style produced a lot of memorable moments across the ceremony and the after-party circuit, but the image that lingered longest was two co-stars in accidental matching sheer tops, finding each other on a silver carpet and giving the internet exactly what it wanted. Storrie and Williams have quickly become one of the most compelling celebrity red carpet pairings in the current awards season landscape, not because of strategic coordination but because the chemistry that makes "Heated Rivalry" worth watching carries over so naturally into everything they do off-screen.
© Copyright Fashion Times 2026. All rights reserved.
