They came to celebrate indie cinema: its boldness, creativity, and authenticity. And its weird clothes.
The 41st instalment of Film Independent Spirit Awards, designed to honor the best independent films and television series of 2025, was held on Sunday at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles.
And, as is customary with any red-carpet event, the indie stars lined up in front of the media to show off their outfits—with mixed results.
Model Kaia Gerber, daughter of Cindy Crawford, stunned in a sheer black dress. The Vampire Diaries star Nina Dobrev wore a floral red and yellow gown with a daring plunging neckline.
But others flattered to deceive at the event hosted by Saturday Night Live alum Ego Nwodim and, as honorary chair, filmmaker Lulu Wang.
Here, we pore over the worst of the worst...
David Dastmalchian
Dastmalchian has built his reputation playing unsettling, eccentric, or psychologically fragile characters. Early in his career, he played one of the Joker’s henchmen in The Dark Knight and later portrayed the disturbed Bob Taylor in the kidnapping movie Prisoners.
This macabre vibe has apparently bled into his wardrobe, with the 50-year-old arriving at the Hollywood Palladium looking like a tormented dentist.
Instead of white scrubs, the actor, who says he was “messed up” by a horror flick at age 7, donned a black pullover with buttons off to the side. He also sported a black skirt and, you guessed it, black Doc Marten boots. He later added a shacket of a similar obsidian tone and capped his look with Dracula-esque jewelry and black nail polish.
Wunmi Mosaku
If Dastmalchian’s outfit was too dark, Sinners star Wunmi Mosaku’s was too bright. Looking at the Nigerian-British actress’s garish mustard-yellow dress was like looking directly into the sun.
The wild off-the-shoulder detail was a head-turner, too.
However, the $300 dress nods to her West African heritage, which is pretty cool. That said, she must lose points because the piece is 100 percent polyester, per the designer’s website. What about the environment!
Emma Hannaway
Hannway, who was up for the Producers Award, a prize that celebrates creativity even with a restricted budget, is winning no plaudits for her outfit.
Is that a cool blue anorak? Arguably, yes. Does the cap add a relaxed vibe to the look? Yeah, sure! Does it look like Hannaway’s Sunday morning dog walk has been interrupted by an awards show? YES.
Whilst that might be OK for some, it doesn’t satisfy the Beast. Negative marks.
Kayo Martin
Kayo Martin is a child. Just 14. So, for that reason, we shall go easy on him and let you, the reader, marvel in the tragedy that is his outfit (look at the diamond-studded tie and shoes with nostrils like a cow!)
He starred in The Plague, a horror/drama written and directed by Charlie Polinger in his directorial debut.
To his credit, he took home the Breakthrough Performance honor for his part as a bully in Polinger’s flick. He’s clearly one to watch, as are his red-carpet outfits.
Kirsten Dunst
The Hollywood icon arrived on the red carpet (which was blue) with husband Jesse Plemons, wearing a floral Valentino dress.
She was up for Best Supporting Performance for her role in Roofman, but she lost out to Naomi Ackie for her portrayal of Lydie in the black comedy Sorry, Baby.
The Daily Mail decreed that the dress invoked spring, but as far as we can see, it invoked images of a trad-wife toiling over a pot at a hulking cast-iron oven.
She capped her costly look with Gianvito Rossi shoes and pieces from Starling Jewlery.
Mary Bronstein
Bronstein’s look reminded the Beast of Dr Finkelstein from Tim Burton‘s 1993 stop-motion Disney film The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Just look at those long, black gloves. Perfect for ghastly experiments.
Is the dress grey or silver? Hard to tell. It appears that some random netting has been added to the sides of the garment, too. Interesting. And what is that scarf/tie thing? Yuck. No.
The shades feel a bit try-hard, too. Finkelstein also wore shades. Perhaps Bronstein was styled by the mad scientist himself?
The actress and filmmaker directed If I Had Legs I’d Kick You. She was beaten in the Best Director category by Clint Bentley, the brains behind period drama Train Dreams. But Rose Byrne won best lead performance for her role in Bronstein’s flick.
Rose Byrne
Guilty, not by association, but because her outfit was also weird.
Despite her success at the awards (see above), Byrne must be reprimanded for her look. It looks like she was wearing a fairly regular two-piece before getting tangled in a Jamaican flag.
The color scheme is off, and the weird hangy bits look far too much like a turkey’s jowls. I’ve seen enough.
