There are dresses that shimmer, and there are dresses that command an entire room. Last night at the Fashion Trust Arabia Awards, Gisele Bündchen chose the latter—stepping away from her beloved “rich-mom minimalism” to embrace pure, gilded glamour.
Under the hot lights of Doha, the supermodel floated across the carpet in look 56 from Valentino’s spring/summer 2026 collection: a liquid-metal gown fractured with slits at the chest and thigh, shoulders sculpted like armor, and an intricate scatter of metallic florals in greens, blues and gold. Instead of the runway’s dramatic neck tulle and chandelier earrings, she edited with breezy precision—carrying a gleaming Devain Jacquard shoulder bag, Jimmy Choo sandals to match, and one elegant Coco Crush bracelet. Gold, layered upon gold, upon gold.
It was a night defined by luminaries. Tyra Banks and Farida Khelfa glided through the venue; Paloma Elsesser made an entrance in a sheer black Alaïa gown crowned with an architectural headpiece; Queen Latifah, Lindsay Lohan, and Emma Roberts added their own fashion punctuation marks. The air felt electric—equal parts haute spectacle and family reunion for fashion’s most photographed.
Two major honors anchored the evening. Miuccia Prada was celebrated with a Lifetime Achievement Award for reshaping modern fashion as we know it, while Zuhair Murad received the Trailblazer Award, a nod to the power and poetry of Arab couture.
Bündchen herself was radiant, glam in her signature language: sun-swept blonde hair, smoky bronze eyes, a petal-soft lip. It was a triumphant return to the red carpet—a moment punctuated by her quietly dazzling year, during which she welcomed a baby boy with partner Joaquim Valente. At home in Brazil and Miami she reigns as an icon of understated luxury: pilates in perfect athleisure, flax-toned tailoring, wide-leg trousers that whisper rather than shout. But last night, she reminded us that she can still deliver a fashion fantasia with ease.
Some women sparkle. Gisele? She glows.
