THEunpredictable, spectacular and in the name of style: the Venice Film Festival. With an edition that is shaping up to be subdued because of the Hollywood actors strike, the task of reviving spirits and making the 80th edition unforgettable will be entrusted to fashion. The Italian stars are confronted with the American ones on a playing field that has precise rules, where elegance is not enough never and excesses penalize. Between style errors common and looks that have left a mark in the history of the event, we have retraced the looks from 2000 to today celebrating style icons and recalling looks that were perhaps best forgotten.
The rules of style on the red carpet in Venice
A dress-code it really doesn’t exist. But retracing the style of the last twenty years of the Venice Film Festival, it becomes clear how this event, known and followed throughout the world, has now developed a personal taste. The most beautiful looks of all editions are the ones that celebrated elegance and refinement from Red Carpet.
Long dreamy dresses which, however, have always revealed a detail, a neckline or a decoration that made them unique and memorable. An example can be the black velvet jumpsuit with a bouquet of flowers on the décolleté signed Armani and worn by Cate Blanchett last year. Or the fringed long dress Louis Vuitton worn by Emma Stone for the premiere of La La Land in 2016. Revisited classics with a unique character, just like the actresses who wore them.
The icons of the Festival, winners of the Red Carpets from 2000 to today
Mention all the looks that made the Venice Film Festival so glamorous and a la mode it’s impossible. But, from 2000 to today, there have been a couple capable of being remembered despite the passage of time. Thanks to clothes similar to artworksuch as the tulle creation of Dior choice from Jennifer Lawrence in 2017. Or the Valentine worn by Keira Knightley in 2011 that left everyone speechless for the wealth of details and a dreamy aesthetic. There have been looks capable of changing the cards on the table and marking the fate of actresses who later became icons of style, as happened to Zendaya In the 2021 in Balmain at the premiere of Dunes. And others who celebrated real queens of the red carpet as Nicole Kidmanwhich from 2004 in Tom Ford silver rhinestones to 2022, always metallic in Celine, gives style lessons to all young (and older) colleagues.
Jennifer Lawrence in Dior at the Venice Film Festival 2017. (Getty Images)
The common thread among the most memorable outfits is Made in Italy
A magic recipe for looks that remain in history does not exist. Even if, retracing the annuals, edition after edition, it can be seen that there is a common thread that unites many of the most beautiful dresses seen on the catwalk in the Lagoon. It’s Italian houses, chosen for their craftsmanship and refined taste, to conquer celebrities from all over the world by promising a real Made in Italy fairy tale. From Armaniwhich dresses many of the Italian actresses in competition every year, a Versacepassing through Valentine, Prada, Gucci and many others. With the hope of seeing more and more emerging Italian brands and new talent tread the red carpet of the Festival, Italian style knows how to get recognized. Edition after edition.
Keira Knightley in 2011 in Valentino. EPA/CLAUDIO HONORED
Outfits to forget: common mistakes
If there are winners, of course there are also losers. When we talk about fashion we know: between In and Out it’s all about the details. It didn’t take much, even to the most experienced actresses, to make mistakes that later remained in history. Like the disastrous mix & match of Kristen Stewart (most likely her stylist) in 2021where it’s not the clothes themselves that don’t work as much as the combination with tousled hair, all too natural make-up and white wedding décolleté.
Dakota Johnson Out at the 2015 festival with a Marc Jacobs dress that doesn’t enhance its colors or shapes. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Or like a long series of oversights relating to the proportions and silhouettes of the chosen looks, from the unfitting sack dresses (like that of Amber Angiolini in 2014) to sad sheath dresses that don’t enhance the silhouettes of even gorgeous women like Scarlett Johansson (2004).
Even the stars, so idolized for their wardrobes and impeccable style, are wrong. But with twists always ready to lift spirits, the fashion of Venice Film Festival is confirmed as one of the most stimulating and captivating of the annual fashion events calendar. What does the 80th edition have in store? We’ll see.
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