Did These Designers Preview Their Upcoming Collections at Venice?

You can’t keep a fashion eye closed—not at the Venice Film Festival, where the screen isn’t the only place directors unveil their latest work. On the red carpet, designers may have slipped in previews of what’s to come for their houses, sending cinephiles and style-watchers alike into a frenzy. Dior’s Jonathan Anderson, Chanel’s Matthieu Blazy, and Versace’s Dario Vitale each used the festival as a stage for their womenswear to take a bow. Love it, hate it, or aching for more?

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Chanel

At the La Grazia premiere, Tilda Swinton arrived in a custom Chanel ensemble that seemed more like a sketch come to life: a white silk crepe blouse with ruffled cuffs tied in a bow, anchored by a floor-length black silk mikado skirt. Was Blazy hinting at the structure and softness tug-of-war he’s about to explore?

Dior

Alba Rohrwacher arrived at the Jay Kelly premiere in a navy blue Dior Haute Couture gown, cut with deceptive simplicity from the front. Turn to the side, however, and the silhouette swelled into exaggerated volume—a detail that felt unmistakably Jonathan Anderson.

Greta Lee doubled her Dior appearances for the Late Fame premiere. By day, she wore white wool jacket and skirt set, its cropped proportions slicing the silhouette into something sleeker. Then, she switched to a black silk jacket and skirt, sharp in line but softened in movement, paired with matching Dior pumps.

Both looks were restrained, almost cautious, yet carried a sense of what Anderson may be building toward—and these looks were more whispers of what’s to come.

Versace

Versace’s Dario Vitale took a more playful route. For the After the Hunt premiere, Julia Roberts wore a long-sleeve dress that winked at the house’s harlequin print from the ‘80s.

Later, she appeared in a Versace blue wool jacket tossed over a striped shirt and dark denim, an ensemble apparently so covetable that Amanda Seyfried reportedly asked to borrow it piece by piece (shoes excluded).

If these are indeed previews, they’re teasers done the Venetian way: leaving the audience hungry for more. The red carpet has always doubled as a runway—you just have to know where to look.

Photos courtesy of DIOR

Photos: IDESERVECOUTURE (via Instagram) and WHAT THE FROCK (via Reddit)