CFDA Fashion Awards 2026 tights: Brandy, Olandria Carthen and Aweng Ade-Chuol on the red carpet

On this year's CFDA red carpet, bare legs were the rule: Saint Laurent gold for Zoë Kravitz, Hailey Bieber and Rosé, sandals and thigh-high slits almost everywhere. There were three exceptions, all in black. On Monday 2 November 2026, at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, Brandy wore fishnets under a fringed mini skirt, while Olandria Carthen and Aweng Ade-Chuol wore two different blacks under their Brandon Blackwood looks. Below, the three looks, each with its photo, and what is known about the tights.

The evening, hosted by Keke Palmer in archival Bob Mackie, named Anthony Vaccarello international designer of the year. We read the coverage from People, WWD, Footwear News, Fashionista, Bossip, Dazed and Tom + Lorenzo and went through Getty Images' arrivals, guest by guest: these were the only three covered legs.

Brandy in Sergio Hudson: fine fishnets under the fringe

Brandy arrived with Sergio Hudson, wearing his spring/summer 2027 collection, according to Bossip. The look, top to bottom: a white shirt with a tall, stiff collar, open at the chest and pinned with a flower; a high black waistband and a beaded mini skirt with fringe ending mid-thigh; semi-sheer black gloves. On her feet, per Footwear News, the Larroudé by Sergio Hudson Addison pump, black and pointed; Bossip calls them "ankle-strap pumps".

Underneath, fine-mesh black fishnet tights. People is the only outlet to credit a brand: "fishnet tights from L'eggs", the American drugstore hosiery label. The exact style isn't named. Bossip calls them "black fishnets", HelloBeautiful "sheer black tights": in the Getty photos the mesh is so tight that from a distance it reads as sheer, and only turns into a net close up.

Olandria Carthen in Brandon Blackwood: sheer black under the corset

For Olandria Carthen, runner-up on the seventh season of Love Island USA, it was a second CFDAs, Bossip writes. Brandon Blackwood made her a black corset bodysuit with a sweetheart neckline, a single draped strap and sheer panels, trailing a floor-sweeping black chiffon train. A diamond necklace with a green drop, hair slicked back.

Her legs are bare from hip to ankle, which is where the tights do their work: sheer black tights, which Bossip mentions without a brand ("black tights") alongside pointed pumps. In Kevin Mazur's photos the skin shows through the black, lighter over the knee and shin: a sheer of about 20 denier, by our reading. With a bodysuit this short, the sheer black reads as an extension of the corset rather than an extra.

Aweng Ade-Chuol in Brandon Blackwood: the fullest black

Next to Olandria Carthen, and next to Brandon Blackwood himself in the group shots, was Aweng Ade-Chuol, the Australian model and actor. Fashionista lists her "Brandon Blackwood ensemble" among the night's little black dresses. The look is a sheer black chiffon mini dress over a sweetheart corset, sleeveless and high-necked, with a long chiffon train falling from the shoulders; hair pulled back with a glossy side fringe.

The tights are semi-opaque black, fuller than Olandria Carthen's: in Taylor Hill's photos the skin barely shows, only a sheen over the knees. We read them at around 40-50 denier. The shoes are pointed black pumps with a matte finish. No outlet mentions the tights or a brand: everything here comes from the pictures.

The tights: what we know and what we don't

One brand credited: L'eggs for Brandy's fishnets, according to People, with no style name. For Olandria Carthen and Aweng Ade-Chuol no outlet named a brand. The deniers are our reading of the Getty photos: fine-mesh fishnet for Brandy, a sheer around 20 denier for Olandria Carthen, a semi-opaque around 40-50 for Aweng Ade-Chuol. The picks above are our own alternatives.

Why it works

The three looks share one thing: the skirt is very short or not there at all, and the tights are the only thing covering the leg. On a red carpet of long gowns and sandals, black legs became a way to stand in the light without baring everything. They also form a scale: fishnets that let the skin through in small diamonds, a sheer that darkens it, a semi-opaque that hides it. It's the same formula as October's sheer black red carpets, pushed higher up the thigh.

How to copy them

• Fine mesh, not medium. Under a mini already busy with fringe or beads, a tight-mesh fishnet stays a background; a wide one fights the skirt. Our fishnet tights guide explains the meshes.
• Sheer black extends a bodysuit. Under a bodysuit or a mini cut above mid-thigh, a 15-20 denier black continues the garment: the leg stays visible and the line doesn't break.
• The shorter the dress, the higher the denier. Aweng Ade-Chuol wore the sheerest dress and the most opaque tights: when everything shows on top, go 40-50 denier underneath. Our denier guide helps you choose.
• Pointed black pumps, always. All three chose shoes in the same black as their tights: the leg ends in one line, with no break at the ankle.
• One white or bright detail up top. Brandy's shirt, Olandria Carthen's diamonds: with all-black legs, bring the light to the face.

The photos

The photos are from Getty Images (Leonardo Munoz/AFP; Kevin Mazur/WireImage; Taylor Hill/FilmMagic; Dimitrios Kambouris) and are shown with Getty's official embed. The cover circle is a photo of Brandy at the 2023 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade by Anthony Quintano (CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons), not from the CFDA night. The cover illustration is our own.

Gold was everywhere at the 2026 CFDAs: all it took to stand out was a pair of black tights.