Fashionistas would argue that the Oscars have the red carpet monopoly but Venice swiped it this year. The 2025 Venice Film Festival was cinema all the way, but it was a style superhighway where Hollywood’s most stylish stars and the globe’s finest designers put on a masterclass in statement dressing. From riskier-than-ever premieres to vintage nods, the Lido buzzed with looks that were dramatic way beyond the movie set.
The mood was frivolous but refined, with designers utilizing the festival as an understated springboard to forthcoming collections. It was a brief moment in which couture and film intersected in the moment, and the payoff was both brazen and stunning. Whether it was Emma Watson’s surprise return to be seen or Cate Blanchett’s plumed couture extravaganza, each moment was one to be remembered.
Here’s the inside scoop on the biggest style moments of the year’s fest each a look at where next-season red carpet style is headed.
1. Emma Watson’s Double Mini Dress Debut
Emma Watson broke her Venice Film Festival premiere record within a day by blessing the event in not one but two flawless mini dresses. She began with a sleeveless lime-green Emilia Wickstead shift, topped off with an off-white Prada tote, green pendant necklace, and brown slingback pumps. She then transitioned into a Gucci mini with leather pocket details and the brand emblem, employing the same accessories for a smooth style transition.
Her re-entry into the public eye after several years’ break from acting seemed deliberate both shots were sharp, fresh, and quietly commanding. As she’s presented in previous interviews, Watson appreciates “autonomy” and control over her creative vision, and her Venice fashion outfits had that confident presence.
2. Cate Blanchett’s Feathered Margiela Couture
Cate Blanchett dramtically emerged at the Father Mother Sister Brother premiere in a Maison Margiela Fall 2025 Couture ensemble Glenn Martens’ first for the house. The ensemble consisted of a plain recycled polyester bodice and a full-length feathered all-over skirt that swept across the floor with a whiff of nature morte imagery, revealing a romantically suggestive silhouette.
In contrast to runway styling, when the gown was complemented with a biker mask and Tabi boots, Blanchett chose no-glam and classic jewels. The result was the ultimate combination of fashion artistry and red carpet elegance, turning her into one of the braver fashion risk-takers.
3. Julia Roberts in Dario Vitale’s First Versace Designs
Julia Roberts unveiled the world to their initial glimpse at Dario Vitale’s vision for Versace since his takeover from Donatella in March. During the After the Hunt photocall, she wore a blue wool blazer fitted over striped top and blue jeans a simple, 1990s-style ensemble that left many accustomed to Versace’s more risqué style speechless.
For its debut, Roberts became a navy crepe de chine Atelier Versace mermaid dress with embroidered damier motif, which was more than 300 hours in the making. This elegant but quiet look teased at Vitale’s sophisticated direction for the brand’s future.
4. Greta Lee’s Dior Teasers by Jonathan Anderson
Greta Lee was the informal face of Jonathan Anderson’s first Dior womenswear collection, modeling several bespoke dresses that played with texture and shape. To the premiere of A House of Dynamite, she is dressed in a black satin and green organza mini dress featuring a cummerbund-like hemline and blow-out bow.
Lee called the look to Vogue “sculptural and bold but still had a sense of ease and movement,” noting that she felt “empowered” wearing it. Her appearances provided a tasty glimpse at Anderson’s October show, combining masculine tailoring with frivolous femininity.
5. Amanda Seyfried’s Versace Twinning Moment
In perhaps the trendiest fashion tale of the festival, Amanda Seyfried swiped Julia Roberts’ entire Versace photocall look jeans, striped top, blazer, and woven leather boots two days after Roberts had initially flaunted it. Seyfried posted on social media thanking Roberts for her “generosity” and “sustainability” and turning what could have been a predictable wardrobe redo into a viral sensation.
Fashion journalist Kim Russell described it as “a rare moment to see celebs be normal people and exist as friends,” showing that authenticity reigns supreme even within the hyper-polished realm of haute couture.
6. Mia Goth’s Vintage Versace Throwback
Mia Goth set the stage for vintage fashion, opening in a Versace Spring/Summer 1991 couture brown flared mini dress. The retro cut and terracotta hue of the outfit looked new again against the backdrop of the festival’s landscape, demonstrating how old pieces could compete with brand-new elements.
This was also part of a larger festival trend: blending eras to achieve ageless but on-trend red carpet looks.
7. Alba Rohrwacher’s Couture Devotion
Italian actress Alba Rohrwacher test-drove her devotion to Jonathan Anderson’s design vision in two show-stopping Dior couture moments. The first was blue evening wear with hip-sweeping body-padded hips said to have taken 126 hours of work; the second, butter-yellow silk drop-waist top and bottoms.
Both looks illustrated Anderson’s synthesis of sculptural shape and fluid movement, making Rohrwacher a kind of muse for his Dior epic.
8. Kim Kardashian’s Margiela Moment
Kim Kardashian stormed Venice in a monochromatic gray, caped dress from Margiela’s Fall 2025 Couture collection at the DVF Awards. The draped silhouette and architectural construction were a departure for the brand, one which has stayed away from celebrity dressing in the past.
Her look, paired with Blanchett’s, represented what may be a new era for Margiela on the Hollywood red carpet one that is bold, daring, and unglamorous.
9. Ayo Edebiri’s Archival Chanel Homage
Ayo Edebiri’s custom Chanel gown paid tribute to the house’s Autumn/Winter 1986 collection, originally modeled by Jerry Hall. The white suit-inspired design, with its nipped waist and ankle-grazing trousers, was a modern reimagining of a classic.
As a first-time Venice attendee, Edebiri’s choice blended reverence for fashion history with a fresh, confident presence, earning her a spot among the festival’s best-dressed.
The 2025 Venice Film Festival demonstrated that the red carpet can be more than awards season pre-game is a proving ground for fashion’s future. Historic revivals and first-time designs, the festival blurred fashion and film lines, creating a style vision that is experimental and intimate. If this is what the designers and the stars are dishing up now, future fashion weeks will be unforgettable.
