This Is Why Jane Fonda Carried Her Red Coat To Present At The Oscars

At last night's 92nd Academy Awards we saw Brad Pitt win his first Oscar for acting, Renée Zellweger's triumphant return to the spotlight, and a historic Best Picture win for the South Korean film Parasite. But what might've caught your eye during the Best Picture category was presenter Jane Fonda, with a red coat draped over her arm.

It's not exactly common to carry a coat onstage on Hollywood's biggest night, so seeing it got us wondering why the actor and activist had picked it up—but we should've known it wasn't just a mistake.

In addition to wowing the world with her new gray pixie cut, Fonda took to the red carpet in a stunning red dress that we've seen on her before. The Elie Saab beaded gown was her outfit of choice for the 2014 Cannes red carpet, and her choice to wear it again is part of her commitment to the climate. And that red coat on her arm represents another layer of her commitment by reminding us of her promise to never buy new clothes again.

If you somehow missed it, Fonda led quite a celebrity campaign in the fall with her Fire Drill Fridays in Washington, D.C. After committing to the surprising goal of being arrested every remaining Friday of 2019, her campaign wrapped up in January 2020.

And that red coat? It was a big part of her protests. On the first Friday she was arrested, Fonda told the gathered crowd about the coat: "You see this coat?" she said. "This is the last article of clothing that I will ever buy."

It quickly became a symbol of her commitment to the climate, and last night helped to punctuate the reworn dress when she took the stage. It's also not the first time she's reworn an outfit (an act many celebrities would've cringed at not long ago), and we're already excited to see what she pulls out of her closet next.

There are plenty of reasons to quit fast fashion, but we can learn from Fonda that it's not just fast fashion that's the problem. "We shouldn't look to shopping for our identity," she said at the same event where she announced she won't make any more purchases.