Against all odds, Beetlejuice’s gothic glamour did not seep into every cobwebbed corner of the Lido at Venice Film Festival. In fact, it was a decidedly, dare we say it, muted season on the fashion front. We have the breakout films’ leading ladies to thank for the safe tactics at play on the red carpet.
Both Cate Blanchett and Angelina Jolie water-taxied their way in and out of the Floating City with suitcases full of exquisite custom Armani and Saint Laurent, respectively. It all worked, but it didn’t wow. Even Lady Gaga, the stripper platform enthusiast who once gifted the festival that bubblegum feathered Valentino moment, engaged classic Hollywood mode, rather than leaning into the Joker drama her Little Monsters had hoped for. The headline-making part of her Dior haute couture premiere look was not her Philip Treacy hat, but the gigantic engagement ring on her finger.
For her red carpet appearance at the premiere of 'Joker: Folie à Deux,' on Wednesday, September 4, at the Venice Film Festival, the star chose a striking look.
Balenciaga, Cartier…
Still, the new guard – see: Taylor Russell who is always at her best in Italy – did their best to up the ante, while the septuagenarians – Isabelle Huppert, Sigourney Weaver – showed the steadfast style mavens, who daren’t stray from their column gowns, that it’s OK to play. Watching Isabelle Huppert potter around town in trackies and double denim (dripping in Balenciaga) was nothing but a joy to behold. Her red-carpet wear? “It said, ‘I’m here, but like whatever,’” according to her stylist Jonathan Huguet.
It’s thanks to these red-carpet rebels (a special commendation must go to the mermaid-haired Patti Smith who chucked on her usual scruffy tailoring and jeans for the paps), who made it possible for micro trends to bubble under, and encouraged editors to crane their necks past all the Cartier on display. Here, the haircuts, jewels and veils that gave Venice Film Festival fashion a point of interest for 2024.
Fresh chops
This office’s bob expert, Hannah Coates, has been filing daily dispatches on the midi cut, but Huppert scored the top prize for her undone French style, which she teamed with a sequin-studded beret, no less. “We like that last-minute thing,” says Huguet of why the mussed-up ’do suits his client’s signature laissez-faire style. “It’s exciting – that feeling of not being too put-together.” While Isabelle proved that a choppy, face-framing cut looks good at any age, internet boyfriend Drew Starkey got a cute back-to-school crop for his Venice moment. Starkey’s mini mullet is basically hair styling lore for any modern-day heartthrob (as decreed by Harry Styles and Paul Mescal before him). Starkey even inspired his Queer co-star, Daniel Craig, to smooth out his rustic Loewe campaign locks for the canal-side photo opps. A job well done!
A two-fingers-up attitude
For every Gaga wearing Dior haute couture, there was Joaquin Phoenix in Converse. The Joker: Folie à Deux co-stars got the dichotomy of Venice (the cooler, older sister of Cannes) down to a fine art. For some, the festival is the last word on spellbinding glamour. For others, it’s just another day at the office. This IDGAF attitude felt strangely compelling this year – who wouldn’t choose a cap and trainers over a corset and heels, à la festival ringleader Huppert?
Topsy-turvy diamonds
It takes balls to wear a Tiffany & Co. pear-cut diamond pendant the size of a small rock backwards, but Russell – egged on by her stylist Jahleel Weaver – doesn’t do things by halves (check out her sheer bridal Chanel couture moment). Blanchett, who draped her Louis Vuitton pearls over her shoulders, and Ncuti Gatwa, with his singular Messika ear cuff, also paved the way for wearing high jewelry any way you damn well want to – even if the designated security guards minding those bulbous gems are lingering close by.
School-girl chic
Loafers are not – shocker! – headline news in September, but there was something quite charming about Sophie Wilde and Jenna Ortega wearing their white ankle socks and brogues in Venice – a place surely immune to the back-to-school spirit pervading depressed Londoners’ commutes. Sigourney Weaver’s (Chanel) tie looked pitch perfect for an autumnal photocall. Ditto Winona Ryder’s (Chanel) satin bow laced around the neck of her crisp button-down. If you take one tip from the festival, let it be a reminder that there’s nothing chicer than a clean white shirt.
Anti-bridal veils
Philip Treacy’s magnificent Gaga confection will go down in Venice Film Festival’s headwear history, but it was the inky black veils worn by Wilde and Raffey Cassidy that are currently etched in our minds. How fab – and on-trend – to bathe the world in a maudlin hue, like Kylie Jenner at the last Schiaparelli couture show, and go – just for a second – incognito.
This article was previously published on Vogue US
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