Taylor Russell Stakes Her Claim on Style Stardom

Taylor Russell has been a working actor for a decade, but her upcoming role in Lucas Guadagnino’s Bones and All could rocket her to a whole new level of fame. It’s helped place her on some of the biggest red carpets in the world over the past few months, and she sure hasn’t squandered that opportunity. With just a handful of showings, the actress has proven she’s an absolute style star, with a sense for red carpet dressing one should surely keep their eyes on.

Bones and All doesn’t come out in theaters until the end of November, so we’ll have at least a few more Russell red carpet appearances in our future. That may mean it’s too early to announce our favorite look from the promo cycle, and we may end up eating our words, but it seems unlikely anyone could top the Schiaparelli couture look she presented at the BFI London Film Festival earlier this month. Russell stepped out in the opening look from creative director Daniel Roseberry’s fall 2022 couture show, a champagne-colored corset with a black skirt draped over it, a cropped, embroidered jacket with a pagoda shoulder, and a boater hat.

According to Harper’s Bazaar, “the jacket alone took five fittings and over 150 hours to perfect,” and the workmanship is very clear. The look was a scene stealer when it walked the runway in July, but on the red carpet, seeing it come to life on Russell, it was a moment to remember. Russell’s costar, Timotheé Chalamet, who is used to being the style star of every red carpet he steps on, looked great in an all-white Alexander McQueen spring 2023 suit with white lug sole boots and a diamond-encrusted bone choker from Vivienne Westwood. But the winner of this round is most definitely Russell.

And the Schiaparelli look is hardly the only one Russell has delivered during this press tour. It’s not even the only couture look. The actress kicked things off in Venice last month wearing Balenciaga fall 2022 haute couture, a strapless kelly green mini dress with a large skirt encircling the front. On the carpet, Russell paired it with black tights and heels, but switched out the black opera gloves seen on Bella Hadid on the runway with white ones.

She was having quite the Balenciaga day in Venice, having attended a photocall ahead of the red carpet in a stretch jersey mini dress and the brand’s signature pantaleggings. The look was simple, but it’s the way Russell works all of these outfits that make them standout. It’s possible she got tips on serving (and an in to Balenciaga) from her good friend, Euphoria star Alexa Demie.

In fact, Russell is surrounded by a lot of great style inspirations. There’s Demie and Chalamet, of course, but also her other Bones and All costar, one of fashion’s favorite “It” girls, Chloë Sevigny. Guadagnino, too, has been known to turn a look, and his loyalty to Loewe has paid off during the film’s promotion cycle. Russell also wore Loewe back in August to the Cinecittà And Academy Of Motion Picture Dinner, opting for a cold-shoulder, draped dress from Jonathan Anderson’s fall 2022 collection.

This look proved that while, Russell loves a wow moment, she has also mastered simple elegance. About a week and a half later, the actress attended the Venice Film Festival’s closing ceremony in another simple, yet very chic piece. For the occasion, where she received the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Young Actress, Russel wore a black, strapless dress with an oversized bow and train on the back from Ralph Lauren fall 2007. Russell smartly kept her accessories simple, leaving all the attention focused on the gown and her slicked back hairstyle.

Like any current red carpet staple, Russell has been dipping her hand in the vintage game. OK, 2007 may not be considered vintage, but she did follow that up with a piece ten years older in London just last week. The actress nabbed a beautiful Vivienne Westwood fall/winter 1998 structured strapless dress with oversized buttons from Aralda Vintage. The look, from Westwood’s “Dress to Scale” collection, added a bit more whimsy to Russell’s impeccable repertoire.

The style parade continued as Russell traveled from London to Los Angeles to attend the second annual Academy Museum Gala on Saturday night in a look off the Alexander McQueen spring/summer 2023 runway, which premiered just days before. The dress was rendered completely in leather with a halter top and low-cut, open back. Like the model on the runway, Russell placed her leather-gloved hangs in a hidden pouch within the halter top as she posed for the cameras alongside Guadagnino.

Russell’s A+ style is not necessarily anything new. The actress has had good taste for as long as she’s been in the spotlight. It seems, though, that with the backing of a buzzy new movie, she’s getting access to more pieces than ever before, meaning she’s really able to show us who she is. Now, we’ll just have to wait with anticipation to see what Russell delivers next. Likely, there will be a world premiere for Bones and All in our future, though it’s hard to see how the actress will top her past looks for that red carpet.