(EDITORS NOTE: Image was converted to black and white) Cate Blanchett poses on the red carpet during the 77th Venice Film Festival on September 02, 2020 in Venice, Italy. (Photo by Matteo Chinellato/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The pandemic has starved us of many things and one of those is events. A global hibernation saw events both big and small either postponed or canceled altogether, with everything from intimate gatherings to full-blown productions put on hold. This has also meant a halt to occasion dressing, with gowns and formal wear all but banished to cupboards and closets around the world. That is until now. Following on from last week’s new-era, Covid-safe VMAs, the 77th International Venice Film Festival rolled out over the weekend, the first international festival since the Coronavirus pandemic began. And how we’ve relished the fantasy of it all.

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Jury president Cate Blanchett kicked things off at the festival’s opening ceremony wearing the spectacular Esteban Cortázar dress she’d first worn in 2015 at the London premiere of Carol, however with a new spin: the addition of a striking Pomellato necklace. Making a strong statement for something old, something new, she continued to rehash old pieces from her “attic,” then wearing a reworked version of the incredible Alexander McQueen dress she wore to the 2016 BAFTA Awards. The hand-embroidered floral patched asymmetric top was adapted from the original dress, part of McQueen’s “Spitalfields” Spring/ Summer 2016 collection, which Blanchett wore with a pair of sleek black slacks and elegantly draped wool silk blazer. “I am working with what I’ve got in the attic,” the actor told WWD. “It’s an opportunity to clear the cobwebs out and see what I’ve got. And it’s fun, I remember seeing my mother’s wedding dress, and it was the first time in my life I truly appreciated the history of a garment. So whenever you do re-wear something, you have this shadow memory of the time you wore it before.”

 

Other standouts included Taylor Hill in ethereal Etro, Vanessa Paradis in a silk dress with pink plumes from Chanel’s Paris-31 rue Cambon Métiers d’Art 2019/20 collection, Natasha Andrews in divine Dior, Lotte Verbeek in Prada’s red silk satin strapless dress with patent leather décolleté and of course, Tilda Swinton, who received her Golden Lion award in Chanel couture with a custom Venetian carnival mask designed by Björk’s creative director James T. Merry in tow (plus another tonal green Haider Ackermann look).

With nine days of premieres, roll-calls and glamorous Italianate soirées (usually attended to by boat), the fashion stakes are no doubt high. Here, some of the best fashion moments from the 77th International Venice Film Festival thus far.