This Week, the Best Dressed Stars Dominated the Front Row

With fashion month well underway, designers may be busy unveiling their new collections, but they’ll always make time to outfit Hollywood’s elite. Last week, as the runways of New York and London were in full swing, A-list talent gave the front rows a jolt of star power. After all, the symbiotic relationship between brands and celebrities is one that allows performers the opportunity to switch up their style, while using pieces from the labels they trust. Case in point: Katie Holmes wears plenty of Ulla Johnson, but her seat at Johnson’s show was a chance to test-drive a feminine take on the anorak. Likewise, Gabriela Hearst’s event allowed supermodel Lauren Hutton to thrill street style photographers in one of Hearst’s eco-friendly wool and silk cardigans. Covered in knitted toucans, florals, and zigzags, the cheery piece elicited one of Hutton’s famous megawatt smiles. 

Meanwhile, Blake Lively breezed in alongside her big sister Robyn for Michael Kors’s fall 2022 extravaganza at Terminal 5. The pair wore pencil skirts in striking pastels, but opted to coordinate instead of matching. Robyn kept things subtle in her grey turtleneck and belted skirt, while Blake went full bombshell in powder blue separates that showcased her washboard abs—and her eternal ability to make even the simplest looks sizzle. 

Midriff reveals were popular coast to coast, especially when they involved the season’s boldest knitwear. In Los Angeles, Lori Harvey lit up Burberry’s Rodeo Drive party in a custom Riccardo Tisci design. In a bold shade of plum, Harvey’s ribbed cashmere crop top and pencil skirt was an ab-baring knockout. And while Harvey’s look may have provided a playful hint of belly, Halston star Rebecca Dayan went all out at the Khaite show in New York, demonstrating a more sultry way to wear long layered knits. Draping a chunky beige sweater-coat over her black silk bralette and wide-leg pants, Dayan contrasted textures, colors, and weather expectations to create one of fashion week’s most alluring outfits. 

Away from the runways, stars were no less inventive. Louis Vuitton comprises the bulk of Noémie Merlant’s red carpet wardrobe, but the divine creation from Nicolas Ghesquière that the French actress-director chose to wrap up her time at the Berlin International Film Festival was a standout. The gauzy white gown from the spring 2022 collection was modified slightly from its runway version; model Janet Jumbo sported a conspicuous neck ruffle during the show in October, but Merlant’s Berlinale look nixed the detail. The neck embellishment connected with the collection’s “grand bal” theme, but the simpler styling directed focus on the Papel Picado-esque cut-outs and graceful sense of movement of the dress instead.