Anne Hathaway has been having quite the fashion moment. Up until recently, the A-list actress has been known more for her career, hard work and hustle than her sense of style — much like her diligent yet sartorially-challenged The Devil Wears Prada counterpart, Andy Sachs.
Yet, like Andy, Anne always had the potential to pull off a showstopper: she was just holding back. Because over the past two years, we have been introduced to a new era of Anne Hathaway, an era of Valentino PP pink, towering platforms, tiny mini dresses, Atelier Versace gowns, legs for days and, on occasion, bringing puffer jackets to the red carpet.
She even nodded to her The Devil Wears Prada character’s glow up within one of her new glam fits — a patent chocolate leather coat, paired with Andy (and Anne’s) signature fringe and a black turtleneck, worn while sitting next to Anna Wintour herself at the Michael Kors show during New York Fashion Week.
Confirmation of Anne’s elevated style status came last month when she was named as the latest face of Versace, fronting its Versace Icons collection alongside creative director Donatella Versace.
She’s been donning Versace looks on the red carpet ever since, including a showstopping white boucle gown for the Met Gala (which she attended arm in arm with Donatella) and an extravagantly embellished Atelier Versace hooded gown for the Bulgari high jewellery show last night in Venice, where Hathaway posed next to fellow Bulgari ambassadors Priyanka Chopra and Zendaya.
On her appointment as a Versace ambassador, Donatella said Hathaway was a “woman after my own heart,” and revealed she had long admired the actress “because she is an extraordinary artist with a strong point of view about her career.”
Donatella referenced Anne’s appearance at Versace’s recent LA show in a mini dress made by the brand as one of her style highlights (of course), dubbing Hathaway’s new, defined aesthetic as “dangerous but sexy.”
But Hathaway wasn’t always known in this way, and many of her early red carpet looks were a world away from dangerous, or even sexy. Perhaps the star’s most memorable look from before this new era was her powder pink Prada Oscars gown, a decidely more angelic and overtly feminine choice than her more recent red carpet gowns.
Granted, Hathaway did turn up to the premiere of Armageddon Time at Cannes last May in bridal white Armani Privé, but it broke the internet in a way which Anne’s old uber-innocent style never would. It was bolder: there was a puff sleeve, rectangular sequins, tousled bangs and, to top it off, a whopping Heart of the Ocean-esque jewel looped around her neck.
The look was a landmark in Hathaway’s recent run of Big Looks, earning her the nickname “mother” (aka gay icon/anyone who’s killing it fashion-wise) and letting fans know she meant business. It was her Valentino PP pink phase, though, that truly made people pay attention.
First off, she wore a PP pink jumpsuit to Cannes (it was a great Cannes for Anne), impressing onlookers so much that Harper’s Bazaar declared it would “go down in Cannes history.” Then, in July last year, Hathaway rocked up to the fashion house’s AW 2022 show looking like a bonafide Barbie doll in a sequined hot pink peplum mini dress and platforms that make your ankles hurt just looking at them. She was all anyone could talk about — and Florence Pugh literally got her nips out.
Hathaway never been a particularly hot topic at any of the Met Galas before now, either. Yes, she did the hooded dress trend way before everybody else (wearing Ralph Lauren in 2015) and divided opinion then, but otherwise her looks have largely passed us by. We’re a little under a month away from this year’s event, though, and if Anne is in attendance, she’s sure to be one of the most exciting looks of the night. Don’t disappoint us now, mother.
