The Looks We Love at Venice Film Festival 2026

Venice has a way of making fashion feel more cinematic

Venice does not need much help creating a fashion moment. The lagoon, the wooden jetties, the faded grandeur of its palazzi and the strange glamour of arriving somewhere by boat provide a backdrop that can make even an airport adjacent outfit feel cinematic. Add the red carpet of the world's oldest film festival and the result is a particular kind of fashion theatre, less controlled than Cannes, more romantic than the Met Gala and considerably more interesting than another step and repeat.

The 2026 edition gave us plenty to work with. There were enormous gowns and beautifully conventional tuxedos, but some of the strongest looks resisted obvious spectacle. Men played with proportion and relaxed tailoring. Vintage and archival fashion continued to compete convincingly with current collections. Armani's presence was particularly powerful, while Chanel, Dior, Tom Ford, Balenciaga and others approached festival dressing from very different directions.

Rather than attempting to rank them, these are the people and fashion moments that stayed with us.

PATRICK SCHWARZENEGGER

Tom Ford, With a Little Trouble

Patrick Schwarzenegger understood the assignment without looking as though he had tried too hard to understand it. His Tom Ford by Haider Ackermann appearances played with precisely the sort of sensual, slightly undone menswear that Ackermann does so well. One arrival look allowed a leopard print collar to interrupt otherwise polished dressing, while his tailoring throughout Venice stayed sharp without becoming rigid. Even the tousled fringe contributed to the effect.

IRINA SHAYK

The Drama of an Archive

Irina Shayk reminded Venice that arrival dressing can be every bit as compelling as the carpet itself. Among her strongest moments was an archival Givenchy Autumn 2015 tailcoat with exaggerated balloon sleeves, a piece dramatic enough to turn stepping off a water taxi into its own fashion event. Her festival wardrobe moved between Givenchy, McQueen and Dolce & Gabbana, but it was that ability to make clothes feel slightly dangerous rather than merely glamorous that kept us watching.

ROBERT PATTINSON

Black Tie, Reconsidered

Robert Pattinson's wide white pinstripe Dior suit was precisely the kind of menswear risk Venice needed. The proportions were generous, the palette unconventional for black tie and the overall effect landed somewhere between old Hollywood leading man and contemporary fashion oddball. Pattinson has become very good at wearing clothes that might overwhelm somebody else and making the discomfort part of their appeal.

BROOKLYN & NICOLA PELTZ BECKHAM

Purple Reign

Nicola Peltz Beckham's deep purple Balenciaga couture gown was built for photographs: one shoulder, hooded, twisted across the bodice and falling from a ruched dropped waist into an enormous train. Brooklyn kept things deliberately simple beside her in black tailoring, which was exactly right. Sometimes couple dressing works because one person knows when to let the other have the entire frame.

BHAVITHA MANDAVA

A New Chanel Moment

Bhavitha Mandava in Chanel Resort 2027 was one of those appearances that made us look twice. The look belonged to Matthieu Blazy's new Chanel era, bringing the weight of one of fashion's most scrutinised creative transitions onto the Venice carpet without allowing the clothes to overwhelm the woman wearing them. Mandava's tumbling hair and smoky beauty kept the overall effect youthful rather than overly precious.

MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL

The Power of Restraint

Maggie Gyllenhaal rarely dresses as though she is chasing a red carpet moment, which is exactly why her fashion tends to register. At Venice, her strongest appearances relied on proportion, intelligent tailoring and the confidence to allow a look to breathe. Among a festival full of gowns competing for attention, restraint became its own kind of disruption.

KENDALL JENNER

Golden Hour

Kendall Jenner's Venice debut came wrapped in vintage Giorgio Armani, and it was difficult to imagine a more appropriate setting for it. The golden look carried the ease and sensuality of Armani at his best, proving again why the archive has become such fertile territory for contemporary red carpet dressing. Against Venice, it felt less like nostalgia and more like evidence that truly good clothes rarely expire.

VITTORIA CERETTI

Sheer, Without the Predictability

Vittoria Ceretti's custom Armani Privé column offered a more sophisticated answer to the increasingly exhausted naked dress. Velvet grounded the silhouette while a sheer upper bodice scattered with dark crystal embellishment introduced transparency without making transparency the entire point. Boucheron and Crivelli jewellery added another layer of light. It was sensual, severe and exceptionally controlled.

SAM ROCKWELL & LESLIE BIBB

Couple Dressing Without the Costume

Sam Rockwell and Leslie Bibb brought something increasingly valuable to the carpet: personality. Their best moments worked as a pair without slipping into the overly engineered matching that can make couple dressing feel like a marketing exercise. The pleasure was in seeing two distinct people occupy the same photograph rather than two outfits designed by committee.

MARIACARLA BOSCONO

Model Behaviour

Mariacarla Boscono in Chanel was always going to have presence. Few models understand the difference between wearing a dramatic look and allowing it to wear them quite as instinctively. Venice gave Boscono the scale she thrives in, and she responded with the kind of dark, uncompromising glamour that feels distinctly hers rather than borrowed for an evening. Her Chanel appearance was among British Vogue's documented festival looks.

ROONEY MARA

Quietly Exact

Rooney Mara's approach to fashion remains remarkably consistent without becoming repetitive. She rarely relies on colour or obvious decoration, instead allowing silhouette, fabrication and small details to carry the image. In a festival environment that rewards spectacle, that precision becomes surprisingly powerful.

AMAL & GEORGE CLOONEY

Venice Royalty

Few couples belong to Venice quite like Amal and George Clooney. Even their water taxi arrival became one of the defining images of the festival, with Amal's hair caught by the wind as they crossed the lagoon. George remained faithful to the classic tailoring that has defined his style for decades, while Amal supplied the fashion drama. The appeal is partly consistency: neither appears interested in becoming somebody else simply because a red carpet is waiting.

NINA DOBREV

Dark Romance

Nina Dobrev’s red carpet look was far more compelling than the pantsuit for our edit. The strapless gown plays with contrast beautifully, beginning with a densely embellished black bodice before dissolving into layers of smoky olive chiffon. Rather than conventional black eveningwear, the unexpected green introduces depth and movement, while the sheer panels trail behind her without overwhelming the clean column silhouette. The slicked back hair and diamond earrings were exactly the right finish, allowing the unusual colour story and texture of the dress to hold the attention.

CLAIRE FOY

Off Duty, Done Properly

Claire Foy's Bottega Veneta moment demonstrated why the spaces between premieres can sometimes produce better fashion than the carpets themselves. Blazer, trousers, bag and deliberately relaxed styling created something that looked like actual personal style rather than an outfit constructed solely for photographers. Venice needs these moments. Without them, festival fashion becomes an endless procession of gowns.

JONATHAN BAILEY

The Tuxedo Wins Again

Jonathan Bailey offered perhaps the best argument of the week for leaving the tuxedo alone, mostly. His Giorgio Armani look retained every traditional element, including satin shawl lapels, bow tie and patent shoes, but the proportions and fabric kept it from feeling ceremonial or dated. GQ went so far as to suggest it might have been the best menswear look of the festival. We understand why.

REBECCA DONALDSON & CARLOS SAINZ

The New Red Carpet Couple

Rebecca Donaldson and Carlos Sainz brought another kind of couple energy to Venice, with fashion and Formula One meeting on the festival circuit. What worked was the polish without excessive coordination. They looked appropriate for the occasion without appearing to have been styled into a single visual identity.

WHY THESE LOOKS?

A best dressed list is ultimately subjective, and ours deliberately is. We were less interested in identifying the biggest gown than in the moments when clothes, wearer and Venice actually made sense together.

That could mean Pattinson destabilising black tie in white Dior, Jenner reaching into the Armani archive, Ceretti finding a smarter way into sheer dressing, Bailey reminding everyone how good conventional eveningwear can be, or Shayk stepping off a boat in archival Givenchy looking as though the arrival itself were the premiere.

Venice rewards personality. The city already supplies more than enough spectacle. And the best dressed people understood when to compete with it and when simply to let the lagoon do some of the work.