When Julia Roberts touched down in Venice to promote Luca Guadagnino’s After The Hunt, her wardrobe instantly set fashion tongues wagging. Debuting Dario Vitale’s first public design for Versace—a wool jacket, striped shirt, and straight-leg denim—the look left some questioning: Is this really Versace? The murmurs grew louder after Roberts appeared on the red carpet in a harlequin-print crepe de chine gown, a nod to Gianni Versace’s autumn/winter 1986 collection that only true fashion historians clocked.
Roberts, however, looked every inch the icon. And Amanda Seyfried agreed. Spotting the look on Instagram, she messaged stylist Elizabeth Stewart (who works with both actors): “Please let me wear the same outfit.” Within 48 hours, Seyfried was photographed in the exact ensemble at a photocall for The Testament of Ann Lee. Call it sustainable styling—or simply a moment of fashion sisterhood—but the swap marked a refreshing departure from the tired “Who Wore It Best” era.
The Venice Film Festival has become a runway for creative debuts this season: Jonathan Anderson’s Dior on Alba Rohrwacher, Glenn Martens’s Maison Margiela on Cate Blanchett, and Louise Trotter’s Bottega Veneta on Jacob Elordi. Now, Vitale’s Versace joins the lineup—not as a bold manifesto, but as a whispered promise of what’s to come. The real question isn’t how is this Versace? but what could this new Versace become?
