Celebrities are fully embracing the fact they get to wear poofy dresses, cutout gowns, and thousands of dollars worth of jewelry again on red carpets. After all, they sat through a year of cancelled events (or ones hosted virtually with a more laid-back dress code) and now is the time to re-emerge in the boldest of looks. Ahead of award season, stars are flexing their style prowess at the 78th Venice International Film Festival. The fashion looks were beyond gorgeous, especially with the Venetian backdrops. (Celebrities were brought to the Palazzo del Cinema in a water taxi that sailed through the romantic city of Venice.) On the red carpet, there were your iconic black Hollywood gowns with splashes of kaleidoscopic lime green and red ensembles.
The festival, which began on Sept. 1, kicked off with its first main event: the premiere of Spanish film director Pedro Almodóvar’s movie Madres Paralelas. Penélope Cruz was one of the first celebrity arrivals on the red carpet. On opening night, she wore a captivating black and white gown from Chanel. Model Barbara Palvin followed up shortly with her own look: a sculpted black dress from Armani Privé. Meanwhile, Adriana Lima brought bursts of radiant color to the red carpet with her sequined, strapless red gown. Ahead, see all the best looks from the Venice Film Festival red carpet, so far. Since the event runs until Sept. 11, this post will be continuously updated with more fashion ensembles as they pop up. Until then, scroll on to indulge yourself in the world of glamorous gowns, jewels, and shoes.
Kirsten Dunst
Kirsten Dunst cascaded down the red carpet in an Armani Privé black gown that oozed Hollywood glamour. She kept the accessories simple with a pair of dangly gold earrings.
Penélope Cruz
Penélope Cruz wore a Chanel Haute Couture gown on the red carpet. The black and white dress featured a fitted bodice and a skirt that flared out in a Disney princess-inspired way.
Cynthia Erivo
Cynthia Erivo, one of the judges at this year’s festival, wore a sparkling cutout V-neck gown by Versace. Her sky-high platform stilettos peeked out from underneath her thigh-high slit dress.
Adriana Lima
Model Adriana Lima wore a strapless, sequined cherry red Etro dress. For accessories, she kept it minimal with earrings and two bracelets — both from Pomellato.
Barbara Palvin
Barbara Palvin wore a sculptural, edgy black number from Giorgio Armani Privé’s 2018 Haute Couture collection.
Chloé Zhao
Director Chloé Zhao’s is having quite the year. Not only did she win an Oscar for Best Director of Nomadland, but she is also a judge at the film festival. For the red carpet, Zhao looked graceful in a floral gown. Given that she tends to keep her red carpet looks on the more casual end (when she accepted her Oscar, she wore white sneakers), Zhao wore a gray Fjällräven Kanken backpack instead of carrying your usual clutch.
Isabelle Huppert
French actor Isabelle Huppert gave an ode to old-school Hollywood vibes with her loose waves and gold vintage Armani Privé gown, which was from the fashion house’s Fall 2005 Haute Couture collection. Huppert styled the look with Cartier’s matching 18k yellow gold and 18k white gold vintage necklace and bracelet set.
Sara Sampaio
Sara Sampaio wore a black dress from Giorgio Armani’s Privé. The halter-neck style was crafted out of velvet and featured beading along the neckline.
