If anyone can bridge Hollywood’s past and present with effortless grace, it’s Emma Stone. The Oscar winner stepped out in Midtown Manhattan this week channeling pure ’90s nostalgia — and more specifically, one of Gwyneth Paltrow’s most iconic onscreen fashion moments.
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Arriving at The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Stone turned heads in a rare archival ensemble from Donna Karan’s Spring/Summer 1996 collection — a look immortalized in Great Expectations when Paltrow’s character, Estella, captured cinematic and sartorial imagination in that very shade of green.
The leaf-green silk blouse and bias-cut skirt, look 40 from the collection, offered all the sensual minimalism that defined the decade. The blouse — buttonless and fastened delicately at the bust — floated effortlessly over a slinky slip skirt, the kind that made Donna Karan synonymous with quiet sensuality. It’s an outfit that spoke of intelligence and confidence, the same qualities both Paltrow and Stone embody in their own right.
Styled by Petra Flannery, Stone’s take on the look was elegantly faithful: black cut-out Manolo Blahnik mules, diamond studs, and softly tousled auburn waves replacing Paltrow’s sunlit blonde layers. The result? A modern homage that felt less like costume and more like continuation — as if Estella herself had stepped into 2025, trading heartbreak for ease and self-assurance.
The revival feels timely. The ’90s have returned as fashion’s most referenced decade, and the Donna Karan archive is suddenly everywhere — its polished sensuality echoed in the minimalist tailoring of The Row, Khaite, and even Paltrow’s own label, Gwyn. Once again, we’re drawn to the era’s mastery of subtle power: strong silhouettes softened by silk, structure made sensual.
For Stone, it’s another example of her ongoing style evolution. Between her Louis Vuitton ambassadorship, she’s emerged as one of Hollywood’s most refined dressers — a master of understatement who understands that simplicity, when done right, can be utterly cinematic.
