Katie Holmes' dress for the 2024 CFDA Awards was as unexpected and welcome as her appearance on the Natural History Museum's white carpet step-and-repeat.

Having covered Katie Holmes' gowns for many years, I know from experience that she almost always appears on the red carpet in an elegant black dress. There is no permutation of LBD that she and her stylist, Bree Welch, have not tried. This year, she attended the American Ballet Theatre Gala in a beaded black kaftan dress by Emilio Pucci and wore a silky satin dress to the Broadway premiere of Our Town. On October 28, however, Holmes decided to break the red carpet pattern in honor of New York's design talent.

She grabbed the arm of Carolina Herrera designer Wes Gordon in a punchy, long-sleeved evening gown. Peony pink juxtaposed with bright red-orange, almost coordinating with the accent lettering of the CFDA logo on the wall behind her.

Twisting around to give the camera another angle, Holmes revealed a few more unexpected details. From the front, it looked like a small triangular cutout, but from the back, the skin was more widely cut away, ending just above the hips. The shoulders of her dress were held in place by dainty black ribbons with bows.

Welch revealed on Instagram that the dress was completely custom made. She wrote, “Thank you Wes, Jenna, and Yaki for making me this dream dress in two days.”

The actor accessorized with drop crystal earrings by Irene Neuwirth in the same bright shade as the dress' skirt, a black envelope clutch, and red point-toe kitten heels by Gianvito Rossi. She wore her hair in a slightly messy updo with a middle part and chose pale pink makeup to coordinate with her dress.

Katie Holmes has been spotted in two main types of outfits this season: wide-leg and barrel-leg denim, a necessity for Broadway stage-going, and a carefree downtown-errand look. Rather than a red carpet dress in a spring bouquet palette, her M.O. is a fall shacket and a perfectly proportioned Bevza tote bag. Carolina Herrera's gown tonight is why I love watching the red carpet on Monday nights: you never know what you're going to see.