The inspiration behind the 2026 Oscars stage design? A leafy courtyard garden
Designers Misty Buckley and Alana Billingsley leveraged nature and glamour to create a setting that's 'very alive'
The thrill of the Oscars is seeing which nominees will take home those Midas-touched statuettes. But in creating the stage for the 98th Academy Awards, production designers Misty Buckley and Alana Billingsley wanted to capture a different kind of gold – golden hour.
For the 2026 Oscar stage design, the duo transformed Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre into a light-dappled secret garden, complete with leafy trees, bronze trellis-like gates and dynamic, LED panels that glow with sunset hues. It’s a scheme that’s both organic and glamorous.
‘This year we really thought about the set as a sanctuary for celebration,’ Buckley and Billingsley told Wallpaper* in an email. ‘The space feels ceremonial, almost like stepping into a courtyard designed for reflection. There is always the sense of something just beyond these walls that makes the gathering feel all the more intimate.’
‘This year we really thought about the set as a sanctuary for celebration.'
Misty Buckley and Alana Billingsley
To create that feeling of intimacy – a challenge that’s two-fold, given the live audience and millions of TV viewers – Buckley and Billingsley leveraged the architecture of the stage, beginning with a diamond-shaped proscenium that draws the eye deeper into the scenography. The stage is then framed with scenic elements, including Japanese maples and glowing rice paper-like panels that reconfigure to highlight what’s happening, from awards to tributes to musical performances. The screens also project videos and animations, including images of golden light filtering through leaves. ‘It creates this subtle sense that the space is breathing,’ the designers explained.
Buckley, who most recently designed the stage for the BRIT Awards, and Billingsley, an art director whose work includes the Grammy’s stage, are no strangers to the Academy Awards. In fact, this year’s ceremony is the duo’s fourth time designing the Oscars’ sets. Still, it’s a tall order: ‘You’re constantly thinking about camera angles, lighting conditions, and transitions. The design has to feel monumental on a wide shot, but still hold intimacy when a presenter walks on stage,’ they explained.
Flexibility was ‘one of the biggest lessons from last year,’ the designers continued. The solution? More movable LED screens to seamlessly create new environments. ‘The fluidity of the space is really beautiful, and watching those transitions unfold during the show is something we’re particularly thrilled about,’ they added.
Like the awards, the stage is all about fostering excitement. But it’s also about celebrating range: ‘The aesthetic ends up feeling modern and minimal, but also very alive. It’s that tension between precision and nature, or between something heroic and something quietly atmospheric.’
