Preparing for your very first Oscars is never an easy feat, but for Palestinian actress Clara Khoury—who plays psychologist Nisreen Jeries Qawas in Kaouther Ben Hania’s 2025 docudrama The Voice of Hind Rajab, which is nominated as the Tunisian entry for Best International Feature Film—there was an added layer of complexity: how do you prepare to celebrate the impact of a film about a wholly preventable tragedy when one of your costars is banned from attending the industry’s biggest night because of a US travel ban?
“For me, it’s less about the red carpet and more about what the film represents,” Khoury tells Vogue. “Being there means this story and Hind’s voice has reached people around the world. That’s what makes it meaningful. I feel grateful, but also very aware of the responsibility of carrying a story like this into a room like the Oscars.”
Every part of the inspiration behind Khoury’s 2026 Oscars look (which the star worked on for over a year with the help of stylist Hind Matar) was deeply informed by her moving performance in The Voice of Hind Rajab. The final look is a fitted black strapless Lanvin dress with an embroidered flourish that perfectly sets off her silver DYNE statement earrings, turquoise ring and bejeweled black Lanvin heels.
When it came to glam, Khoury tapped makeup artist Katey Denno. “I identified so much with the role Clara played in the film,” Denno, who is a former mental health social worker, tells Vogue. “I was often on the receiving end of desperate calls—sometimes to aid women and children fleeing dangerous situations. Whenever Clara was onscreen, I felt locked into her eyes, which later made my makeup artist’s mind think: I would love to paint on her beautiful face someday.”
Today is that day. “I wanted to use this moment to spotlight a brand that’s important to me, and is all about sparkle and color,” Denno continues. “Aora Makeup, a brand founded by a queer Arab man who lives in Mexico, is very inspiring to me. The values behind the brand align with mine: they challenge the norms, they’re 100% plastic free (plastic is rampant in the industry!), and they celebrate bold color, which is very uplifting to the spirit—something we all need right now.”
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