Venice Film Festival Red Carpet: More Predictable Than Outstanding

The Venice red carpet delivered glamour, but as a launchpad for new designers at established brands it felt predictable. Versace led with Dario Vitale’s debut: Julia Roberts in a daytime blazer-and-jeans look that she wore to a morning press conference, later switching to a sleek, understated black gown — modern and polished — for an evening premiere, even it was very un-Versace. Amanda Seyfried wore the same daytime outfit days later leaning stylishly performative rather than genuinely eco-conscious — perhaps no surprise since she and Roberts share the same stylist, Elizabeth Stewart.

Jonathan Anderson’s new Dior highlights included Alba Rohrwacher in midnight-blue haute couture — old-world grandeur rewritten through Anderson’s subversive eye, Monica Barbaro in a black gown with pleated skirt and bow, and Andrew Garfield in a cable-knit and Dior sneakers. Instagram went crazy with Garfield’s everyday preppy look and endless comparisons to J.Crew pre-AI followed — an indication of the microscopic analysis of red carpet fashion these days since everyone on social media wants to be a critic. Although Anderson is undoubtedly saving his boldest new ideas for the runway show,  this revealed some of the ingredients of the new mix.

Tilda Swinton can do no wrong. But this time around the Chanel pairing was the perfect combination of a crisp white silk blouse with ruffled cuffs tucked into a sweeping black mikado skirt. It’s unclear whether this truly was a preview of Matthieu Blazy’s new Chanel, however.

Louis Trotter’s new Bottega Veneta was the festival’s winner: Jacob Elordi in a boxy eveningwear tux and mega chic daytime all-white ensemble — doesn’t hurt to look like an early 2000s Dolce & Gabbana model obviously, and Vicky Krieps in a sculptural black gown with leather accents and bold pink hair — one of the few looks that felt genuinely forward-thinking on the red carpet. When it came to jewelry there were some pieces here and there but a gobsmacking moment was definitely missing.

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