I'm not really into the Oscars, but I just looked through a slideshow of red carpet photos. I didn't necessarily like all the dresses, but I thought some of them would be great inspiration for cakes! Here are some of the ones I thought could be fun:

http://oscars.movies.yahoo.com/photos/150-2011-red-carpet-arrivals?nc#OmgPhoid=6
http://oscars.movies.yahoo.com/photos/150-2011-red-carpet-arrivals?nc#OmgPhoid=20
http://oscars.movies.yahoo.com/photos/150-2011-red-carpet-arrivals?nc#OmgPhoid=21
http://oscars.movies.yahoo.com/photos/150-2011-red-carpet-arrivals?nc#OmgPhoid=22
http://oscars.movies.yahoo.com/photos/150-2011-red-carpet-arrivals?nc#OmgPhoid=54
http://oscars.movies.yahoo.com/photos/150-2011-red-carpet-arrivals?nc#OmgPhoid=64

I don't have the time right now (or, in some cases, the talent) to turn these ideas into actual cakes, but maybe I'll do some sketches later. If you had to design a cake based on an Oscars dress, what would you do?