Cate Blanchett Lifts Off, Wings and All, in a Fabulous Gucci Frock

We haven’t spotted Cate Blanchett in the front row since she graced Giorgio Armani’s Privé Fall 2016 couture show with her angelic presence back in July, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t been paying attention to the goings-on on the runway in the interim. Just two weeks ago, Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele showed his Spring 2017 show in Milan, a sparkly, Renaissance-inspired, and ruffle-laden collection shrouded in a dense pink mist. In the front row, Gucci’s cool girls like Kelsey Lu, Makenzie Leigh, Serena Williams, and, of course, French punk musician Soko took it all in, dressed in last season’s Gucci. So, with her appearance at a gala and dinner honoring the British Film Institute, hosted by IWC Schaffhausen, Blanchett might actually be the first to wear one of this latest, covetable crop of Gucci designs on the red carpet. Proving, once and for all, that no matter how far she strays from fashion week, Cate Blanchett is still a bona fide fashion empress.

Who: Cate Blanchett.

When: Tuesday, October 4.

Where: The IWC Schaffhausen gala and dinner honoring the British Film Institute in London, England.

What: A ruffle-embellished, ivory, black, and red Gucci gown from Alessandro Michele’s Spring 2017 collection, which he showed in Milan just last month.

Why: This gown takes a fairly conventional silhouette — a black and ivory column gown with a natural waist — and elevates it with a few weird details. First off, there’s the fringe on the ends of the red bow cinching Blanchett’s waist, a distinctly Gucci-like flourish. It borders on overdesigned, but that dance between simplicity and excessive embellishment is what makes Alessandro Michele’s designs for Gucci so exciting. Then, there are the strong shoulders and stand-out ruffles circling down the arms of the gown. It radiates power, the perfect detail for a queen of both screen and style.