The Venice Film Festival serves up subdued style moments and loads of fashion parties. “Sterling Point” costume designer Marissa Schwartz chats about crafting the show’s teen dream wardrobe of Chanel, Bode and thrifted finds for the Amazon show about summering in the Hamptons of the North. Plus, Buck Mason’s executive vice president of womenswear design shares her vision for expanding the brand.
The Venice Film Festival’s Serious Fashion for Serious Times
With fewer young Hollywood stars and studio blockbusters screening at the Venice Film Festival, there were fewer of the barely-there gowns and viral-bait fashion moments we’ve come to expect.
Perhaps it was a reflection of a more serious mood, befitting the politically charged times and the stunning lack of female representation in the competition, where only two of the 21 films are directed or co-directed by women, compared with six last year.
The festival was presided over by a woman, at least. Jury president Maggie Gyllenhaal, a filmmaker herself, called the imbalance a “systemic problem,” adding, “It’s been such a short time that women have had the opportunity to make films at all. It will take some time to get used to the fact that many women make movies quite differently than men do.”
Of course, women remain central to the glamour of the red carpet in Venice, even as they remain underrepresented behind the camera.
Best Dressed
Madame President was the festival’s best-dressed in my book, a study in confident, understated, grown-up glamour, from her impeccable black suit and loafers by The Row, which she wore to a jury photo call with a Bulgari Ginkgo clutch in hand, to the sleek Celine gown she paired with the brand’s cult lace-up ballet flats for the premiere of “Ink.” (At least we’ve evolved past the infamous 2015 Shoegate incident at the Cannes Film Festival, where security guards blocked several women from a red-carpet premiere for wearing flats instead of high heels.)
Styled by Sandra Amador, Gyllenhaal had some fun with ruffles, too. Her custom Balenciaga couture black taffeta high-low gown was ’80s redux in a controlled way, and her Chloé eggplant-hued taffeta cropped ruffle top with black trousers was romantic within the realm of tailoring.
Black and White All Over
Speaking of tailoring, the black-and-white trend has been going for well over a year on the red carpet, but Phoebe Waller-Bridge perfected it in Venice, wearing a stunning, crisp white, floor-skimming blouse with black trousers by Michael Rider for Celine, whose vision of evening-wear ease was striking in the setting.
Sister act Kate and Rooney Mara also stepped out in black-and-white, with Kate in an archival 2024 Armani Privé gown with a pearl embellishment and Rooney in a custom black Louis Vuitton satin dress with a sculpted floral bubble hem. Both were more traditional notions of glamour, certainly.
Most Bridal Inspo
I liked the modern wedding vibe of Mariana di Girolamo’s custom white Chanel off-the-shoulder top and drop-waist lace skirt for the premiere of “Wild Horse Nine.” I bet it will be influential with brides-to-be.
Wildcard That Stole Our Hearts
And as predicted, John Malkovich was the fest’s wildcard in the best way, with stylist Jeanne Yang steering his quirky style choices, from Jonathan Anderson’s Elizabethan-inspired ruffled Dior collared shirt to Bode’s white suit and crossover tie, which he paired with his own bohemian kilim mules. The best-dressed man even made it back to the U.S. in time to receive a career honor at the Telluride Film Festival over the weekend, with his traveling man-bag in tow!
Fashion’s Counterprogramming
While the lack of female filmmakers in the Venice Film Festival competition underscored how much work remains to be done, fashion provided some counterprogramming, using its platform to center women and their stories.
Miu Miu presented “Avec Kim,” a new film in its Women’s Tales series, directed by Claire Denis and starring Suzanne Lindon and Kim Gordon, as part of the Giornate degli Autori program, with a private dinner at Ca’ Corner della Regina attended by Gyllenhaal, Pamela Anderson, Francesco Casetti, Emma Corrin, Zoey Deutch, Mona Fastvold, Luca Guadagnino, Susan Sarandon, Chloé Zhao and more.
Armani Beauty and Cartier also had starry events. Meanwhile, the 17th Annual DVF Awards honored extraordinary women, including actor and activist Jane Fonda; Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Amor Mottley, S.C., MP; Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Lynsey Addario; founder and CEO of Food4Education Wawira Njiru; and author, advocate and domestic violence survivor Gisèle Pelicot.
“These women are the very best of humanity,” said philanthropist, author and fashion icon Diane von Furstenberg who took the stage at the Teatro Carlo Goldoni to welcome guests to the awards. “Gloria Steinem, the superwoman feminist icon and my very dear friend passed away. As we commit to continue to follow her path, I would like to dedicate this evening to her,” she said of the superwoman who died last week, and was honored with a DVF Award herself in 2014.
Fonda also recalled her legacy in her remarks, adding, “I do believe that she lives on in the changed lives of so many women including my own.”
“Sterling Point” is Must-See Fashion TV
The clothes on Amazon’s hit “Sterling Point” are almost as addictive as the show and the scenery (which had me searching Vrbo listings in Muskoka, Canada, by Episode 2).
Set between New York City and the moneyed cottage country of Muskoka, Canada, the show serves up Chanel and Dries Van Noten alongside $500 Bode, MM6 and Vivienne Westwood T-shirts, Jacques Marie Mage glasses, a cheeky “PMS” sweatshirt among its thrift store finds and more obscure labels that have sent viewers furiously trying to track them down online.
The high-low mix is deliberate, says Toronto-based costume designer Marissa Schwartz, who grew up spending summers in Muskoka and experiencing firsthand the way wealth presents itself there. Even among the most privileged, she tells WrapStyle, there’s an informality that’s a contrast to the more overt fashion signaling of the show’s New Yorkers.
Take Annie’s arrival in Muskoka, wearing a spectacular terracotta Dries Van Noten coat. Schwartz ordered the coat online, choosing it as much for its storytelling ability as its fashion impact. It was lightweight enough to stuff into a bag, warm enough to double as a blanket on a plane and able to be peeled away as Annie’s journey unfolds. Its sheen and unusual color also made it feel both luxurious and, Schwartz says, just slightly “inappropriate for Muskoka,” underscoring Annie’s fish-out-of-water status.
According to Schwartz, Chanel entered the picture through Margot Robbie, whose LuckyChap production company is among those behind “Sterling Point.” The French house reached out and ultimately opened a dialogue that Schwartz says was refreshingly free of pressure. “We cared so much about it not feeling like product placement,” she says. “It genuinely was just like, what works, what makes sense for story.”
Among the pieces that make cameos are a spring 2023 black and white lace archival Chanel dress Annie borrows from Denise in Episode 2, which Schwartz selected from options provided by the house; a Chanel 22 hobo bag; and a Première chain watch.
But the secret sauce of “Sterling Point” is in the layers. A “heavy, heavy volume” of the costumes is thrifted, Schwartz says, sourced everywhere from Toronto vintage stores Smoking Vintage and Nouveau Riche to Clutter Porch in Muskoka. “Finding things in the world that have lived a life and have a story and have wear and tear just lands more authentically on camera,” she said.
That approach is particularly effective with the show’s Gen Z characters. Oona’s vintage rings are meant to look accumulated over a peripatetic life, while a “Recreation” T-shirt looks like a novelty piece but turns out to be a $500 Bode piece. It was in the script that Rory would be a “Bode boy,” Schwartz explained of the style-minded show from writer/director Megan Park.
There are also some fun discoveries. One lacy top generated so much online sleuthing that a fan warned Schwartz, “I fear there is a Reddit thread.” It came from Unanswered Mystery, a South Korean label Schwartz found through New York boutique Shop Pêche — and the costume department had dyed it purple, making the internet hunt particularly difficult.
One of the most gratifying things about the show is how many people have reached out about it, Schwartz said, adding that she’s also excited that Canada is getting the recognition it deserves on shows like “Sterling Point,” “Heated Rivalry” and “Off Campus.” “We’ve had a bustling industry for decades, but with ‘Sterling Point’ we are highlighting Canada as Canada, not hiding it, and showing the world how beautiful our country is.”
Executive produced by Stephanie Savage of “The O.C.” and “Gossip Girl” fame, the show is cleverly written with a lot of sincerity and laughs. It’s already been renewed for a second season. Here’s hoping Schwartz is back for another summer, too.
Buck Mason Women’s Rising
Buck Mason has built a formidable business by convincing men that the perfect T-shirt, chino and pair of jeans are worth obsessing over. Founded by Sasha Koehn and Erik Allen Ford in a 350-square-foot Venice garage in 2013, the Los Angeles brand has grown into a modern American menswear powerhouse. Now it is also making a more concerted play for women.
Leading the charge is Rachel Wilder Hill, Buck Mason’s EVP of design and merchandising for women, who joined in 2024 after a career that has included senior creative roles at A.L.C., Frame and Joie, as well as an earlier stint as co-creative director of Haute Hippie. Her mission is not to reinvent Buck Mason so much as translate its rugged Americana for the female body. “The pillars of this brand,” she told me at a recent dinner hosted by Buck Mason, “are quality, timelessness and California.”
For Fall 2026, that means vintage-inspired denim, hand knits from Peru, cashmere, lingerie-inspired silks, shrunken striped Oxford shirts, World War II officer’s chinos recut to flatter women and a shearling bomber jacket.
A 1950s Hanes T-shirt was the foundation for the Toughknit program of midweight layering pieces, developed over a year and a half using fabric made at Buck Mason’s Pennsylvania mill.
Vintage remains the starting point, and Wilder Hill is a big collector herself, but she is interested in improving on it. For example, a bulky Cowichan sweater has been rendered lightweight and lofty, while scratchy 1960s J. Press-style Shetland sweaters are reimagined in soft alpaca and optimistic pink and blue hues, she explains. Prices range from about $50 to $850.
The collection’s romantic California mood is echoed in a gorgeous fall campaign launching Sept. 17 that was inspired by Dorothea Lange’s 1973 book “To a Cabin” and the rustic Steep Ravine Cabins perched on the bluffs just south of Stinson Beach in Marin County, where Buck Mason received rare permission to shoot.
For Wilder Hill, that landscape embodies the particular Americana she wants for Buck Mason women’s: less East Coast preppy establishment, more Western freedom in nature. “There’s this rugged pioneer spirit that only California can offer,” she said, pointing to Hollywood, ranch wear and surf culture as traditions united by a rule-breaking instinct.
That vision is increasingly getting a space of its own. Buck Mason now has roughly 55 stores, according to Wilder Hill, with a growing number devoted exclusively to women. The retail expansion is accelerating, with new women’s stores planned in New York’s SoHo neighborhood and Malibu. Closer to home, the latest are at the newly reopened Palisades Village, where Buck Mason is expanding its presence with separate freestanding men’s and women’s stores — a sign that what began as an offshoot of a successful menswear business is increasingly becoming a brand in its own right.
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