A lot to cover, so let’s start small and widen the scope as we go, shall we? Note: We’re going to skip Timothée Chalamet’s blood red custom Haider Ackermann sleeveless/backless get-up. Was it my favorite look at Venice? Well, actually, yes. But there’s not much to say about it outside of, "Yes, he hit the slay button." I’m looking forward to Chalamet’s Bones and All press tour, and curious to see where we go from what I found to be a rather paltry Dune press tour in comparison to what he’s proven himself capable of.
J. Law Did Not Fuck Harvey Weinstein
To answer the most pressing question, no, I don’t think Jennifer Lawrence was joking when she responded, "Wash your feet when you get home and if you see Bethenny Frankel tell her she’s not a chef," in response to the prompt, "What is the one recommendation to anyone visiting [New York City]?” during her Vogue73 Questions video. She’s right, she should say it and she did. And while that might be the big headline to come from the video, I did appreciate the tonal whiplash of Lawrence responding, "That I fucked Harvey Weinstein," and the ensuing silence after being asked what the most bizarre thing she ever read about herself was.
Patrick Dempsey's Bleached Blonde Hair Says "Gay Rights!"
The biggest headline of the week, besides the Queen’s death, was easily: "Patrick Dempsey Looks Unrecognizable With Platinum Blonde Hair at Disney Event." Unrecognizable is a stretch being that he looks like Patrick Dempsey... but make it blonde, but still I am spiritually aligned with the idea that Patrick Stewart partnering with a bottle of bleach is worthy of a headline. It's a longheld belief that when a gay goes platinum blonde they're spiraling. "Check on him. He is going through something tough," Bob the Drag Queen once aptly tweeted. Examples: Ryan Gosling’s Ken in the upcoming Barbie movie, Colton Haynes and, well, me.
But what does it mean when the straights do it? Ryan Gosling in A Place Beyond the Pines? Riz Ahmed in Sound of Metal? Zac Efron? Chris Messina? Adam Levine? J. Balvin? Seth Rogen? Survey says: Inconclusive. "I think he’s bored," Los Espookys’ Julio Torres told me. "Bored and curious about what he’s been missing."
From the man himself: "Blonds have more fun, I have to tell you," the actor toldVariety in a quote so expected it almost feels subversive. Turns out he’s blonde for Ferrari, an upcoming film co-starring Girls' Adam Driver and Ziggy’s mom in Big Little Lies actress Shailene Woodley. Consider this my petition for a bleached Adam Driver moment.
Jodie Turner-Smith Turned It Out at Venice
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Miss Flo, Spitgate and societal collapse in the air might be the biggest headlines to come out of the 70th annual International Venice Film Festival, but the true winner of the week was Jodie Turner-Smith who stepped in over a dozen looks throughout the week.
We kicked things off with a 1-2-3 Gucci punch, no surprise there if you follow her red carpets as dedicatedly as I do. About that third punch: A custom black chiffon and silk-organza gown complete with crystal embroidery, a velvet hem and green gloves. "I really wanted the colors to reflect the pan-African flag — red, black, and green — as a perfect statement about my pride in the African diaspora," Tuner-Smith toldVogue about the look.
Then came the real show-stopper: Look 33 from Christopher John Rogers Collection 009, an abstract crayon printed georgette and twill gown that truly deserves to live on a rotating platform at the Smithsonian so it can be properly viewed up close and from every angle. It’s ornate and regal, while also being soft and sumptuous. But why do one CJR when you can squeeze in a second? And so she did: Look 49 from Collection 010 — a silk faille corset in Tumeric and color-blocked, crinolined ball skirt.
Other highlights, a duo of looks from Charles Harbison, who recently relaunched his eponymous label after six years. The first look — Look 26, an athena gown & galaxy cape coat in baltic/nero from his Resort ‘23 collection — was yet another stunner and followed up quickly by Look 40, a persephone dress and aperture pant in crème washed silk from the same collection. Everybody say thank you Jodie Turner-Smith and thank you Wayman & Micah.
"It was so affirming to have such an enigmatic figure in the collection," Harbison tells me. "Jodie really typifies so much of what Harbison stands for in terms of a modern, intellectual, really forward-thinking perspective on femininity and culture. For her to be on that carpet was a check mark for me in many ways. For it to happen in this moment with the relaunch, it really set us up for success in a way that I really appreciate and need."
The NYFW FROWs were FROWing
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Gone obviously are the days of Catherine Deneuve at Yves Saint Laurent, Leonardo DiCaprio at Versace or a 13-year-old Tavi Gevinson at Dior or, my personal favorite, Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon at Todd Oldham in 1995. It’s not that a good front row doesn’t exist. But it’s increasingly hard to net a line-up of A-listers, and not just any A-listers, but that subset of A-listers that don’t actively seek attention, but rather go out of their way to not call attention. We got this from Janet Jackson’s appearance front row at Christian Siriano. Madonna, Doja Cat and Kendall Jenner at Marni was exciting, albeit not unexpected. Same goes for Karlie Kloss, Emily Ratajkowski and Christine Quinn at Proenza Schouler. Same goes for Katie Holmes and Ella Emhoff at Khaite. I’ll admit Shawn Mendes at Tommy Hilfiger gave me full body chills, but that’s likely more a reaction to my Monkeypox vaccine than excitement at a rather expected celebrity/brand pairing.
Thankfully, there was Fendi, here to feed the famished thanks to Creative Directors Kim Jones and Marc Jacobs. The question they asked themselves: "What would Karl do?" Karl being the late Karl Lagerfeld (if it even needs said) who oversaw the brand from 1965 to his death in 2019. I’ll tell you one thing Karl would do, which the two recognized in spades: Assemble the legends. Three of the big six were in attendance — Kate Moss, Christy Turlington and Linda Evangelista, who walked in the show and is the current face of the brand.
Other front row faces included perennial it-girl Sarah Jessica Parker (a rare sighting at NYFW these days), Grace Jones, Daphne Guinness, Naomi Watts, Kim Kardashian, Chloe Bailey, Amber Valletta, Shalom Harlow and Zac Posen. All of the dolls.
Other notable FROWs included Anna Wintour with Lil Nas X and Jared Leto on her right and Serena Williams and Russell Westbrook on her left in attendance at VOGUE World: New York; Anne Hathaway, Vanessa Hudgens, Jamie Xie, Suki Waterhouse and more at the Michael Kors show; and Madonna, Chris Rock, Katie Holmas, Ciara, Evan Mock and Dove Cameron at Tom Ford’s show, which as per usual, closed out the week.
And with that, a curtain on NYFW. Next stop: London.
Welcome to "Wear Me Out,"a column by pop culture fiend Evan Ross Katz that takes a deep dive into celebrity dressing. From award shows and movie premieres to grocery store runs, he'll keep you up to date on what your favorite celebs have recently worn to the biggest and most inconsequential events.
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