Demi Moore embraces self-acceptance , imperfection in powerful style awards speech

"We don’t need to be different," The Substance actress said in her Fashion Icon award acceptance speech

Demi Moore is starting the year with a message of self-acceptance and authenticity, opening up about beauty, identity and confidence while being honored at the 2026 WWD Style Awards in Santa Monica, California.

The actress, who received the Fashion Icon award, used the moment to reflect on embracing oneself fully, imperfections included.

“My 2026 is to continue with the acceptance of ourselves as we are,” Moore said during her speech. “We don’t need to be different. The most beautiful part of who we are is just being our unique selves, our imperfect selves.”

Moore also spoke about the relationship between fashion and film in her career, explaining how cinema gave her an unexpected avenue to engage with high fashion. “There’s this beautiful melding of fashion and cinema,” she said.

 

 

 

 

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“I realised very early on when I was combing fashion magazines and seeing Cindy … that they were never gonna let me walk the runway. I was way too short. And luckily I found my way through cinema that I had the chance to wear these beautiful creations — that I was entrusted to interpret them as a version that reflected also a part of me.”

With humor, the actress acknowledged her casual off-duty style and the freedom fashion has given her on the red carpet. “As Brad could tell you, if left to my own devices, I dress like a 12-year-old boy,” Moore joked, adding that red carpet fashion allows her to explore different sides of herself. “That’s part of the beauty of the red carpet that I get to play.”

She also expressed gratitude to her stylist and creative collaborators, emphasizing that fashion is another form of storytelling. “It’s a place to express, to tell stories in a different way,” Moore said. “And I’m really so grateful that I get to kind of explore … the most important thing is that I get to make it a lot of fun.”