It started with a splash. At the 2025 Oscars, Timothée Chalamet—post-polarising yet great SAG Awards speech—made his Academy Awards appearance in a look that was spot on for him; a true-to-his-nature sartorial twist that came in the form of a monochromatic suit designed by Sarah Burton for Givenchy herself. The hue of choice? An unbounded showing of butter yellow.
Many may have expected the A Complete Unknown actor to lean fully into his method dressing ways and complete the Bob Dylan-esque circuit with a look that was more Bob Dylan than Bob Dylan himself. But this was Timmy we were talking about, the one who’s always bound to pull something out of his Wonka hat, like attending his own lookalike contest, doing an IG live where he dances to ‘I Gotta Feeling’ or riding up to the Oscars in a little yellow suit. But perhaps the latter had a couple more legs to stand on. After all, it was only months before that his own co-star, Elle Fanning, delivered another buttery smooth moment—whilst on the press tour of their film together at that. Only hers was a column satin gown, and Prada.
It was a sign of the times to come. For whilst Chalamet and Fanning may have been the few initial adopters of the buttery shade, the runways have been pointing in that direction for months at a go. Jacquemus took the lead with their viral La Casa show for fall/winter 2024 in the summer of June last year. Peppered all through the collection were moments in which the soft yet striking hue shone through. Pivoting to the spring/summer 2025 collections unveiled later in the year, the specific shade ruled all over the runways—from Toteme to Chloé and Valentino.
Of course, this naturally trickled down to what celebrities were seen sporting amid the spring season, with many more adopting the colour for both the red carpet and other dressy days under the sun. The recent Cannes season alone tells it as it is. This year’s jury president Juliette Binoche stepped out in a full summer-ready look from Jacquemus. Filipina actress Kylie Verzosa was radiant in her floral appliqué gown by Mark Bumgarner. And then there was R.Pattz, looking equal parts chuffed and casual in his Dior pieces. A masterclass in spring layering, if you will.
So whilst it may seem a daunting colour to pull off, the streets are telling us otherwise. Here, a celebrity-approved guide to riding out the wave this summer, in a butter yellow look of your own making.
1 / 40
The mini: Sabrina Carpenter
5 / 40
A spot of draping: Elsa Hosk
9 / 40
Business casual: Juliette Binoche
13 / 40
A statement bag: Toteme spring/summer 2025
17 / 40
Layers on: Katie Holmes
21 / 40
Keeping it casual: Freen Sarocha
25 / 40
Days under the sun: Kendall Jenner
29 / 40
Tee magic: Robert Pattinson
33 / 40
All in: Sonam Kapoor
37 / 40
