Megan Thee Stallion, Charli XCX and Heidi Klum Just Lit Up the InStyle Imagemaker Awards Red Carpet, and the Whole Night Was About the Stylists Behind Them
Megan Thee Stallion, Charli XCX and Heidi Klum Just Lit Up the InStyle Imagemaker Awards Red Carpet, and the Whole Night Was About the Stylists Behind Them
Most awards shows put the stars at the center of the night and the people who dress them somewhere in the shadows. The InStyle Imagemaker Awards flipped that idea on its head. On October 15, 2026, the third annual edition took over Los Angeles and turned the spotlight on the stylists, groomers, hairstylists, makeup artists and costume designers who make Hollywood’s biggest red carpet moments happen. And fittingly, the guest list was stacked with the exact A-listers those artists dress.
Megan Thee Stallion, Charli XCX and Heidi Klum led the arrivals at the intimate ceremony, which was held at a private residence in Los Angeles. They were joined by Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Adam Driver, Joey King, Hannah Einbinder, Elizabeth Debicki, Lisa Rinna, Simu Liu, Julia Stiles, Avantika, Law Roach, Ella Beatty and more. Every one of them came dressed to honor the creative visionaries behind their own best looks.
Why this awards night actually matters
Every great celebrity fashion moment you remember, the gown that broke the internet, the suit that launched a thousand copycat looks, started in a fitting room with a stylist making hard calls. The Imagemaker Awards, now in only its third year, exists to give those behind the scenes pros their flowers while the cameras are rolling.
This year’s lineup made that point better than any speech could. When a stylist has Megan Thee Stallion, Charli XCX and Heidi Klum in the same room, all looking radiant, that is the work on display. These are stars whose fashion choices drive trends for months. Every red carpet they walk is a collaboration, and on this night the other half of the collaboration finally got the applause.
It is also worth noting how fast this event has become a fixture. Only three years in, and it already pulls a guest list that some legacy awards shows would envy.
The arrivals that everyone is talking about
Megan Thee Stallion
Megan has been on a serious fashion run, and her arrival at the Imagemaker Awards kept that streak alive. As a presenter, she was not just there to be seen, she was there to hand an award to the imagemaker who helps shape her own looks. That is exactly the kind of full circle moment this show was built for.
Charli XCX
Charli XCX has never dressed like anyone else on the planet, and her Imagemaker Awards arrival was no exception. Fresh off a career defining era, she walked the carpet as one of the night’s presenters, honoring the team behind her fearless style choices. The cameras loved her, the fashion crowd loved her more.
Heidi Klum
Heidi Klum is basically red carpet royalty at this point, and she proved it again on Thursday night. She also joined the presenter lineup, which makes perfect sense. Few people in the industry have a longer or more celebrated partnership with their glam team than Heidi does.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas took home the night’s big honor
Beyond the red carpet, the headline of the evening was Priyanka Chopra Jonas receiving this year’s Woman of Impact award. The honor goes to a celebrity who uses her platform to champion the causes closest to her heart, and Priyanka has spent years doing exactly that through her work in entertainment and advocacy.
The rest of the night belonged to the honorees in the back of the house, the names you rarely see in headlines but whose work you see in every magazine spread, premiere photo and award show broadcast. The presenter lineup, Megan, Charli, Heidi, Adam Driver, Elizabeth Debicki, Joey King, Hannah Einbinder and Tyriq Withers, each stepped up to present an award to their own imagemaker. That is a genuinely lovely format. Nobody was giving a speech about someone they barely know. Every presenter was honoring the person who actually shapes their public image.
A room full of people who know the secret
One of the most fun things about the guest list is how many of the attendees are famous for their relationships with stylists. Law Roach, the architect of some of the most talked about celebrity looks of the last decade, was in the room. So were rising faces like Ella Beatty and Avantika, plus familiar favorites like Julia Stiles and Lisa Rinna. Simu Liu, Joey King and Elizabeth Debicki rounded out a crowd that mixed old Hollywood polish with new Hollywood edge.
Last year’s edition drew stars like Jenna Ortega, Kerry Washington, Laura Dern, Jessica Biel, Elizabeth Olsen, Riley Keough and Jackie Tohn, with Heidi Klum returning this year. The trajectory is clear. This event is becoming the industry’s favorite night out, the one where nobody is stressed about campaigning and everybody is dressed to thank the people who dressed them.
What the night really says about celebrity style
There is a lesson here for anyone who follows celebrity fashion. The stars get the credit, but the looks are built by teams, and those teams have taste, vision and guts. A stylist talks a client into the risky hemline. A hair stylist saves a look two hours before showtime. A makeup artist reads the dress and knows exactly what the face should do.
The Imagemaker Awards gets that, and by its third year the rest of the industry seems to be getting it too. If Thursday night’s guest list is any indication, the people behind the glam are finally getting the one thing every great artist wants, a night that is actually about them.
Expect the photos from this year’s carpet to keep circulating for weeks. And the next time one of these stars steps out in something unforgettable, remember the names being celebrated on this night. They are the reason it looked that good.
Further reading: Cynthia Erivo’s yellow Prada moment in London, Kendall Jenner on The Kardashians, Florence Pugh’s red carpet debut with Finn Cole
