Taylor Russell Adds Some Va-Va-Voom to a Backwards Suit Dress
Is it a blazer? Is it a dress? Is it art? Whatever it is, it looks fantastic on Taylor Russell. The actor attended a Vogue event yesterday in a garment that defied easy categorization. It also happened to be one of the most talked-about looks from Sarah Burton’s recent debut collection for Givenchy.
Russell wore a nipped-in black dress that subverted a traditional power suit. The outfit looked like she had taken a men’s suit jacket, turned it around, and split down the middle almost to her navel. Strong, sculpted shoulders added to its unconventional nature. The actor wore the runway piece without an undershirt. Russell’s choice of minimal accessories (just gold earrings and a diamond ring) let the structural qualities of her dress really shine.
It has become rare for Russell to show up to an event wearing anything other than Loewe. But with Jonathan Anderson’s recent departure from the Spanish label (and the subsequent appointment of former Proenza Schouler designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez), it appears as though Russell is trying on some new brands for size.
Russell is experienced in rewriting the rules of business wear. (She once did so at the Venice Film Festival in an archival John Galliano suit). But this Givenchy number is a more grown-up, elevated version of the sometimes juvenile Office Siren aesthetic. Which, for those not closely following social media, is experiencing something of a turning point right now. There are dozens of unconfirmed reports of women being fired for taking the trend too seriously in real life. Let Russell’s subverted suit dress prove that some office-inspired clothes aren’t actually meant for a 9-to-5.
It’s safe to say that Burton didn’t have the micro-trend in mind when designing Russell’s dress, however. “I want to address everything about modern women,” Burton wrote in the collection’s show notes. “Strength, vulnerability, emotional intelligence, feeling powerful or very sexy. All of it.”
It’s an approach that’s caught the eye of not only Russell, but also of Cate Blanchett. The Oscar winner was the first star to wear Burton’s Givenchy earlier this month just mere days after it debuted on the runway. Like Russell, Blanchett also selected one of the collection’s subversive black dresses.
