13 of the most breathtaking beauty looks at the Venice Film Festival 2021

Much like Kristen Stewart’s performance as Princess Diana in Pablo Larraín’s biopic, Spencer, the red carpet beauty at this year’s Venice Film Festival rose to the occasion in highly anticipated—and highly impressive—fashion. The actress and Chanel ambassador arrived channeling the People’s Princess in a tweed two-piece suit—albeit a much more leg-barring one—and debuted strawberry blonde tresses, which she wore both side-swept in a tiny low ponytail and as a choppy lob, matched with her signature smokey eye but with a softer, taupe-y twist.

Also arriving at the Palazzo del Cinema on water taxis were the likes of Italian model-actress Mariacarla Boscono with her Old Hollywood glam finger wave, Tina Kunakey with a spiralled curl up-do, and Anya Taylor-Joy, Kirsten Dunst and Bianca Balti, who chose to let the sweet Italian wind sweep through their decidedly nonchalant tresses. 

While stars sailed in, Zendaya looked as if she had emerged from the depths of the Adriatic Sea, mounting the red carpet looking intentionally soaked in a sculpted leather Balmain gown—in the perfect shade of skin—a traffic-stopping 93-carat cabochon-cut emerald necklace by Bulgari, and cascading wet-look waves that framed a rosy smokey eye and glossy lips.

Model Barbara Palvin pulled out all the stops as she attended a trio of movie premieres, turning pop culture and TikTok trends into accents worthy of this cinematic extravaganza. Created by make-up artist Charlotte Prevel for Armani Beauty, her first look was graphic but ultra-minimal with floating eyeliner executed with minimalist precision in smokey chocolate shadow, paired with a touch of eye-accentuating mascara, fresh skin and a peachy-nude lip. This was complemented with a top knot that deserved a spotlight of its own, with hairstylist Owen Gould turning the basic top-knot into a sculptural bow bun split into half with a clean braid. Her second look was a single long braid that whipped down to her hips, while her final look was glamour personified, featuring nude glossy lips, a soft smokey eye and soft, side-parted waves. 

Palvin was joined by fellow models and actress friends Madisin Rian and Adria Arjona. The former sported metallic charcoal eyeshadow with the slightest of silver shimmers outlining her eyes—only to reflect her glassy, plump pout—while Arjona took the classic route with a sleek low bun and a punchy red lip. Then there was italian model-actress Greta Ferro who essentially stole the show when she turned the red carpet into her runway with three swoon-worthy looks: Shaggy curls with disco-esque silvery-blue eyes, textured bangs with a timeless red lip, and my favourite, her bouncy shoulder-sweeping lob and bangs with a decadent bordeaux lip and champagne eyes.

Here’s a round-up of the most breathtaking beauty looks at the Venice Film Festival 2021.