Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai made her debut at the Oscars 2023 on Sunday. Her dress for the night was as beautiful as the champagne carpet at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

“#THEOSCARS. The most beautiful, wonderful, magical & inspiring woman,” fashion stylist Dena Neustadter Giannini said in an Instagram post.

Malala was with her husband Asser Malik at the Academy Awards. The education activist wore a silver sequined gown by Ralph Lauren with a hood, long sleeves, and a cinched detail on one side of the waist for the event, which hosted some of the best artists around the world.

She accessorised with a large silver diamond ring and a gold ring with a large emerald from Santi Jewels and chose a minimal look with just a pop of colour from a crimson lip.

She made an interesting choice with earrings by Leighton Jewels which belonged to Queen Soraya Tarzi in the 1930s. Tarzi was a champion of change in Afghanistan as minister of Education and who actively worked to educate and liberate the women of Afghanistan, said Giannini.

The 19th century stunning Santi ring was antique carved emerald and diamond, made in India with the green for Pakistan, the stylist said.

“My complete honor styling you for the Oscars! Thank you to everyone who made this special moment happen,” she said.

Before the Academy Awards, she was invited to the second annual South Asian Excellence pre-Oscars celebration at Paramount Pictures Studios. She was photographed chatting with actor Tom Cruise in February when she attended the Oscar Nominees Luncheon.

It merits here to mention that she was one of the executive producers of Pakistani movie Joyland, which was the country’s official entry to the Oscars. But, the movie did not make it to the final nominations. Separately, she is also the producer on Joshua Seftel’s short film Stranger at the Gate, which is nominated tonight in the Best Documentary Short Film category.

The 29-minute film tells the story of a former US Marine, who suffers from PTSD and turns into an Islamophobe after returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan.

“To believe that people can change — and to be willing to change ourselves — is our best hope for a better world. I am so proud of @strangeratthegate and the people who made it. Please share our film with your friends and family,” she wrote in an Instagram post last week.

‘It was all a dream’

Malala said that attending the Academy Awards was “all a dream”.

“I wanted my dress to represent the message of our film @strangeratthegate and embody hope,” she said and thanked the team that helped bring my vision to life.

“I was proud to represent this amazing documentary with the director @jrseftel, producer Conall Jones and the film’s inspiring subjects Bibi and Mac. And, as always, I was delighted to spend the night with my husband @asser.malik, looking handsome as ever in his tux,” she said.

‘I only talk about peace’

When asked about whether she believed that singer-turned actor Harry Styles spit on fellow actor Chris Pine during the award, Malala responded with an answer for which she got the Nobel prize.

“I only talk about peace,” she said as the crowd laughed. But host Jimmy Kimmel replied “that’s why you are Malala no one else is”.

Later, she shared the clip on Twitter with a caption “Treat people with kindness.

The question was asked against the backdrop of a viral video on social media in which Styles apparently spit on his Don’t Worry Darling co-star Chris Pine at the Venice Film Festival. The viral footage led to “#spitgate” on social media.

Later, Pine had put it to rest. “Harry did not spit on me,” he told Esquire in an interview earlier this month.