NEW YORK (AP) — The 15-year-old Saniyya Sidney twirled and beamed in a floral-adorned princess gown and her “King Richard” castmate Demi Singleton lit up in soft purple as the Oscars red carpet kicked off Sunday night.

Sidney wore a light teal, strapless Armani Prive gown as one of the early arrivals to the 94th Academy Awards. It wasn’t even her first Oscars. She attended at age 10 for “Fences” and “Hidden Figures.” Singleton portrayed Serena Williams to Sidney’s Venus.

As the film industry’s glamorous return to the Dolby Theatre unfolds, touches of the real world are seeping in.

Jamie Lee Curtis wore a ribbon as a ring in Ukrainian blue, dressed in a midnight blue look by animal rights activist Stella McCartney. Nicholas Britell, nominated for his “Don’t Look Up” score, wore a blue ribbon on one lapel in support of Ukraine, and Diane Warren in an Emerald green tuxedo suit, wore a blue lapel ribbon of her own on behalf of Ukraine refugees.

Presenter Lily James, meanwhile, went with baby pink Versace with a high side slit and Piaget jewels as she posed for selfies with a few fans on the red carpet. Soft pastels like her outfit mixed with metallic and black looks in a year still struggling with the pandemic along with the horrors of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Fashion icon Tracee Ellis Ross went with Carolina Herrera: a bright tea-length strapless red gown with a daring bodice and a single diamond choker. Naomi Scott was all-the-way covered in a high-neck, deep purple look. Anna Dzieduszycka of the nominated short film “The Dress” wore an emerald green gown with spare feather embellishment.

Jewels made the statement for some. Vanessa Hudgens, in a black form-hugging sequin gown, had more than 23 carats of Bulgari emeralds around her neck.

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Associated Press writers Lindsey Bahr and Brooke Lefferts contributed to this story.

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