Nicole Kidman Is Mother (of Pearl) at the Palm Springs Film Festival

Nicole Kidman intends on saving “all the red carpet dresses” for her daughters, she recently told W magazine in her Best Performances cover story interview. “I have them beautifully boxed,” she added. “They’re museum pieces.” On Friday night, Kidman donned another look that’s sure to make it to the front of the line in her personal archive. The actress kicked off awards season at the Palm Springs Film Festival on January 3 wearing a custom, handcrafted Loewe gown with a mother-of-pearl bodice and satin skirt. She accessorized the look with a pair of diamond earrings by Messika. Styled by Jason Bolden, the Kingfisher-blue dress was made especially for Kidman, who has dominated the awards conversation for her role in director Halina Reijn’s film Babygirl—in which she stars as a CEO having an affair with an intern, played by Harris Dickinson.

The evening at the Southern California film festival was a significant one for Kidman because she received the International Star Award. Her status as a prolific auteur was celebrated by all, including Jamie Lee Curtis (she presented Kidman with her trophy for the evening). Ariana Grande also paid homage to mother Nicole, embracing her on the red carpet (and creating a viral video that circulated the Internet like wildfire in the process).

A big night calls for a big dress. Kidman’s was inspired by two particular looks designer Jonathan Anderson created for Loewe’s women’s spring 2025 collection: a pair of shimmering mini dresses covered in mother-of-pearl. Loewe’s atelier refined its technique from that season, and applied it to Nicole Kidman’s special gown, cutting, cleaning, and puzzling together shards of the inner layer of seashells on top of moulded leather. The process is done by hand, Loewe noted—making a look that is sure to go down in couture history. Mother in mother-of-pearl? It only makes sense.