The glittering waters of Venice are ready to welcome its starry guests once again. The time of the year signals the start of the annual Venice Film Festival, where luminaries of the industry fly in from all over to present the best of cinema to a wide-eyed audience. Notably, the buzz of this year’s edition is more pronounced, considering last year’s quiet iteration in light of the SAG-AFTRA strikes going on. One only needs to turn heads towards the streets of the Italian city; with an increasing number of A-listers touching down in Venice, there’s no doubt that the film festival has returned in full force this year. And when the roster includes some highly-anticipated silver screen highlights such as Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga’s Joker: Folie à Deux, Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice sequel, and yet another steamy queer romance by arthouse familiar Luca Guadagnino, there’s no question of the star power that will soon arrive on the Lido di Venezia’s red carpet.
But what of its opening night? The 81st Venice Film Festival started with a bang, as the premiere of Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice brought the whole cast back together. And from the afternoon photo call to the evening premiere, it was clear that each one of them understood the sartorial brief to a tee. On the red carpet, Winona Ryder took her cues from her beloved on-screen character; channelling Lydia Deetz in a skirted tuxedo look from Chanel. Meanwhile, Jenna Ortega, who plays her daughter in the sequel, slipped into a sheer crimson Dior number, one that pays homage to her on-screen mother’s wedding gown in the original 1988 film. There was no mistaking Catherine O’Hara’s striped ensemble at the photo call for anything else—the Beetlejuice reference was as clear as day—but Monica Bellucci also fired up her gothic soul from within, sauntering onto the carpet in a custom Vivienne Westwood look with dramatic sleeves. But the film’s cast were not the only ones who came for the kill. Drawing eyes from all over was the one and only Taylor Russell, who proved she was ever the Venice darling in an archival Chanel look: a bulbous couture gown from spring/summer 1993, first worn by Claudia Schiffer on the runway.
Below, the best of celebrity red carpet arrivals at the 81st Venice Film Festival, with only more to come.
1 / 80
Taylor Russell in custom Loewe
2 / 80
Tilda Swinton in Alaīa
3 / 80
Lady Gaga in Dior couture
4 / 80
Drew Starkey in Loewe
5 / 80
Isabelle Huppert
6 / 80
Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu
7 / 80
Iris Law
8 / 80
Daniel Craig in Loewe
9 / 80
Adjoa Andoh
10 / 80
Tilda Swinton in Chanel
11 / 80
Julianne Moore in Bottega Veneta
12 / 80
Taylor Russell in Alaïa
13 / 80
Josephine Skriver
14 / 80
Isabelle Huppert in Balenciaga
15 / 80
Stella Maxwell
16 / 80
George Clooney and Amal Clooney in Versace
17 / 80
Emily Ratajkowski in Gucci
18 / 80
Victoria De Angelis
19 / 80
Ncuti Gatwa
20 / 80
Stella Maxwell
21 / 80
Joe Alwyn
22 / 80
Fernanda Torres
23 / 80
Eva Green in Armani Privé
24 / 80
Christopher Briney
25 / 80
Cate Blanchett
26 / 80
Brad Pitt
27 / 80
Adrien Brody and Georgina Chapman
28 / 80
Aaron Taylor-Johnson
29 / 80
Jasmine Tookes in Giorgio Armani
30 / 80
Jung Hoyeon in Louis Vuitton
31 / 80
Cate Blanchett in Louis Vuitton
32 / 80
Eva Green in Armani
33 / 80
Sophie Wilde in Loewe
34 / 80
Lili Reinhart
35 / 80
Camila Mendes
36 / 80
Nicole Kidman in Schiaparelli couture
37 / 80
Zhang Ziyi
38 / 80
Cate Blanchett
39 / 80
Nicole Kidman
40 / 80
Louis Partridge in Prada
41 / 80
Ella Purnell in Armani
42 / 80
Harris Dickinson in Prada
43 / 80
Angelina Jolie in Tamara Ralph
44 / 80
Cate Blanchett in Armani Privé
45 / 80
Jung Hoyeon in Louis Vuitton
46 / 80
Taylor Russell in Loewe
47 / 80
Gaumaya Gurung
48 / 80
Ursula Corbero
49 / 80
Louis Partridge and Olivia Rodrigo
50 / 80
Magda Swider
51 / 80
Asha Magrati
52 / 80
Cate Blanchett in Moschino
53 / 80
Reecha Sharma
54 / 80
Angelina Jolie in Saint Laurent
55 / 80
Angelina Jolie
56 / 80
Camila Queiroz
57 / 80
Winona Ryder in Chanel couture
58 / 80
Jenna Ortega in custom Dior
59 / 80
Cate Blanchett in Armani Privé
60 / 80
Michael Keaton
61 / 80
Catherine O'Hara in Oscar de la Renta
62 / 80
Taylor Russell in archival Chanel couture
63 / 80
Monica Bellucci in custom Vivienne Westwood
64 / 80
Willem Dafoe
65 / 80
Isabelle Huppert in Balenciaga
66 / 80
Justin Theroux
67 / 80
Zhang Ziyi in Armani Privé
68 / 80
Arthur Conti
69 / 80
Tim Burton and Monica Bellucci
70 / 80
Mariacarla Boscono
71 / 80
Amy Jackson and Alberta Ferretti in Alberta Ferretti
72 / 80
Patti Smith
73 / 80
Taylor Russell in vintage Jean Paul Gaultier
74 / 80
Catherine O'Hara
75 / 80
Winona Ryder
76 / 80
Monica Bellucci
77 / 80
Cate Blanchett
78 / 80
Jenna Ortega in Paul Smith
79 / 80
Sigourney Weaver
80 / 80
