Our weekly look at the stunningly beautiful and beautifully ugly celebrity ensembles that set the group chat alight.
Best sweater
Alexa Chung shared a photo wearing this dreamy jumper while on a trip to the Cornish coast, and it was an immediate save. The cosy cashmere, white crumpled pants, casual tote and bejewelled Crocs by Simone Rocha are all so perfectly ‘weekend away’ casual (she also wore it with a silk hair scarf at one point, chic). The hand knitted sweater looks vintage, but is by the brand Suzie Kondo and could be yours for… $3500 (!). – Zoe Walker Ahwa
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Best in match
I am so here for fun and fashion in traditionally dull uniforms. Earlier this month it was the Olympic sprinters sporting all the looks, this week it’s Naomi Osaka, former world number one wearing the best tennis ‘fit I’ve seen since the late, great Virgil Abloh designed a collection for the GOAT Serena Williams back in 2018.
Like those iconic looks, Naomi’s incredible bow-adorned attire is also in partnership with Nike, this time in collaboration with Tokyo-based designer Yoon Ahn and, I have to say, it is extremely Ensemble coded (yes everyone who DMed it to us, we appreciate you). I also love Yoon’s intelligent and whimsical take on the design, explaining on Instagram that, “#Lolita fashion (Japanese subculture context) offers an escape from adulthood, a return to the innocence and beauty of childhood. It’s a doorway to a fantasy world where you can craft an ideal identity that may not fit everyday norms but feels perfect in this imaginative space. 🎀🤍” – Rebecca Wadey
Best in black
Last week I raved about Winona Ryder and Jenna Ortega’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice press tour looks, and this week it’s Catherine O’Hara’s turn. For the film’s premiere at the Venice Film Festival she wore this incredible custom woven leather gown by Oscar de la Renta, which co-designer Fernando J Garcia wanted to look like an ombre of black. Another perfectly on brand ensemble for the film. – ZWA
Best local celebrity
Wellington-raised Thomasin Mckenzie is such an unassuming international fashion girlie. I always love seeing her looking incredible at fashion events: she was recently a guest of Prada at Milan Fashion Week, and rubbed shoulders with fellow Kiwi Emilia Wickstead at the annual Serpentine party in London earlier this year. She was in London again this week; not as posed this time, revelling in her inner Swiftie at one of the singer’s sold-out Wembley Stadium shoes, but looking stylish as ever in The Vampires Wife. I’ve always loved this dress which has been available in several incarnations, colours and fabrics (including as worn by Kate Middleton in green). The label is shuttering this year, sob, but some pieces are still available in New Zealand at Workshop. – RW
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Best throwback
I saw a BTS photo of SJP filming the next season of And Just Like That… wearing this incredible Chanel blouse, and immediately knew the reference: it’s an early Sex and the City look from season three, the iconic episode where Carrie regresses to her teens and dates a man who lives with his parents. Back then she paired it with tie-dye capri pants and a bandana, and actually wore the blouse backwards; so Carrie Bradshaw. The costuming of And Just Like That... just does not have the same witty touch as SATC but I do love this update, 26 years later - Carrie as an adult but still with playfulness. – ZWA
READ MORE: The best fashion moments from And Just Like That...
Best red carpet
Oh how I love the ridiculous over-the-top movie star glamour of the Venice Film Festival. It is much chicer and more timeless than the brashness of Cannes. Case in point, festival jury president Isabelle Huppert arriving in this incredible custom Balenciaga. Regular readers of this column will know how I feel about volume, and we all know how Ensemble feels about bows. This is giving effortless, confident and joy. – RW
