Venice Film Festival 2025 is officially underway, and you know what that means. Water taxis! Sunglasses! Glam! Gowns! And no anti-nudity dress codes — so take that, Cannes!
The official selection for this year’s festival includes Yorgos Lanthimos’s latest creation, Bugonia, starring Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons, as well as Guillermo del Toro’s much-anticipated take on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, with Jacob Elordi, Oscar Isaac and Mia Goth.
Also looking star-studded is the new film by Noah Baumbach (indie filmmaker husband of Greta Gerwig), which boasts a cast of George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Laura Dern, Billy Crudup, Emily Mortimer and Eve Hewson, among many other A-listers.
Then there’s A House of Dynamite, the Rebecca Ferguson and Idris Elba-fronted political thriller, Park Chan-wook’s black comedy No Other Choice, and Jim Jarmusch’s comedy-drama anthology Father Mother Sister Brother, starring Cate Blanchett and Adam Driver.
And in case that doesn’t make it clear: we can expect some big names with serious style credentials to be jetting through the lagoon over the next week, as Venice Film Festival celebrates its 82nd year. In fact, some have already touched down at the festival.
Wednesday, August 27, saw the arrival of red carpet favourite Cate Blanchett, who re-wore a plunging black gown by Armani Privé that she had originally debuted at the SAG Awards in 2022. The dress featured a statement, plunging, bejewelled neckline, with a gathered waist detail.
But it was up to Tilda Swinton to deliver the big fashion moment of the night, captivating the red carpet crowds with her custom Chanel look. The outfit featured a white silk crepe blouse with ruffled, bow-detail cuffs and a wide black silk mikado skirt.
It was sleek, chic, and oh so significant: Swinton’s appearance offered fashion enthusiasts a peek into what former Bottega Veneta boss Matthieu Blazy’s Chanel might look like and — this just in — there’s no tweed in sight.
Wednesday also witnessed a sweet mother-daughter moment on the red carpet, with Heidi Klum stepping out with her daughter Leni in matching pink and black corset gowns by Intimissimi.
On Thursday, it was Emma Stone who topped the best dressed list, arriving at the Bugonia press conference wearing a black asymmetric lace cocktail dress by Louis Vuitton. With a halter neckline and a semi-sheer skirt, it was a standout twist on the traditional LBD.
Later in the day, she wowed VFF guests (and divided fashion critics) with an embellished ivory balloon-hem gown, also by Louis Vuitton, for the Bugonia red carpet. The film received a seven-minute standing ovation, which is actually pretty standard by film festival measures.
An honourable mention for Thursday has to go to Italian actress Alba Rohrwacher, whose delightful folded gold top and matching grey-gold trousers have us seething with envy.
Meanwhile, on the menswear side of things, The Morning Show actor Billy Crudup looked dashing in a moss-green suit with a dark shirt, and Jesse Plemons kept it light in a salmon shirt and graph check suit.
Later in the night, it was the couples who stole the show. First came George and Amal Clooney, with George wearing a classic tuxedo and Amal offering a dose of colour with her buttoned-down, ruched fuschia vintage Jean-Louis Scherrer prom dress.
Then came Crudup again with Naomi Watts. The pair looked loved up and luscious in a white tuxedo and embellished tulle Valentino gown, respectively (sadly, it was not Crudup in the Valentino).
Here’s all the best looks from Venice Film Festival 2025
