The Style Evolution of Faye Dunaway, from Bonnie and Clyde to Today
There’s a reason why photos of Faye Dunaway have remained on the mood boards of designers, directors, and creatives for decades. The Bonnie and Clyde star’s style was always ahead of its time—chic and subtle in the black and white color scheme, menswear-inspired long before borrowing from the boys was a trend. Onscreen, she evoked elegance in the 1967 film Chinatown and basically invented the office siren trend in Network, but in real life, she attended award ceremonies and film premieres in the most elegant gowns. Even today, she continues to play on the classic suit—her current go-to ensemble. While the documentary, Faye, which premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival and debuts on HBO July 13, sheds light on her famously erratic behavior on set, it also presents a reminder of just how consistent her iconic fashion moments have been. Here, a look back at almost 60 years of Dunaway in the spotlight and the many looks the now 83-year-old Oscar winner has worn along the way.
Not long after her breakout in the 1967 film, Bonnie & Clyde, Dunaway attended the premiere of Camelot in London wearing a brown silk mini dress with a feather adorned jacket.
Dunaway posed with her “Clyde,” Warren Beatty, in an all white look featuring a fringe-covered coat in 1968.
The actress stayed warm during a 1968 trip to Moscow in a fur jacket and hat.
The actress portrayed Blanche DuBois in a Los Angeles production of A Streetcar Named Desire in 1973. She wrote in her memoir, Looking for Gatsby, “It was a fun performance for me, but hard, very draining. At the height of the madness each night, I would go from standing straight up to falling to my knees, in one swift move.”
Dunaway accepted her 1977 Oscar for Network in a black Geoffery Beene dress with a rope belt detail.
The actress took advantage of her dress’s lowcut neckline by pairing it with a statement necklace, all the better to match the Golden Globe she took home that night in 1985 for her performance in Ellis Island.
Dunaway attended the premiere of Barfly in 1987 wearing a skintight, leather jacket and matching pencil skirt.
Looking extremely prim and proper in a structured white skirt suit, Dunaway attended the Carousel of Hope Ball in 1990.
The actress posed with Sharon Stone in a black and white dress with side cutouts at the “Comic Relief V” to Benefit America's Homeless in 1992.
Dunaway seems to have an affinity for all-white, and she wore the pristine color scheme once again to an American Film Institute event in 1994.
The actress wore a taupe jersey dress and matching shawl by Armani to the 1998 Oscars.
Dunaway looked stunning in a black silk dress with an attached embellished cape topped with fur at the Cannes Film Festival in 1999.
Once again opting for an all-white look, Dunaway attended the 7th annual Vanity Fair Oscar party in 2000.
Adopting the style of the early-aughts, Dunaway attended the premiere for The Rules of Attraction in 2002 wearing a take on the dress-over-pants trend.
The actress went slightly more casual at the 2004 Oscars, wearing a white ensemble topped with a gold damask robe on top.
Dunaway accessorized her black and white look for AMFAR’s Cinema Against AIDS Benefit in 2006 with a pair of black leather gloves.
Wearing a J. Mendel dress with a sheer top and a ruffled, layered skirt, Dunaway attended the Oscars in 2007.
Dunaway brought back the gloves in 2009 for the MTV Video Music Awards, this time wearing a sheer pair with her black pant suit.
Returning to all-white, Dunaway attended the Cannes Film Festival premiere of Midnight In Paris in 2011.
That same year, she attended another red carpet at the film festival in a more casual, silver suit.
In 2016, Dunaway posed with Naomi Campbell at the Vanity Fair Oscar party while wearing a black suit with a unique, red tie detail on one lapel.
Many remember Dunaway’s Best Picture blunder at the 2017 Oscars, but do they remember the navy, double-breasted Esteban Cortazar dress with a skirt of sheer panels, which she wore to the ceremony? The next year, when she and Warren Beatty got a re-do on the Best Picture announcement, the actress actually wore the dress again.
Dunaway brought out one of her quirkier looks for the Cinema For Peace International Committee & Nominee Dinner in 2019, wearing a patterned dress, pearl-adorned velvet jacket, and Gucci loafers.
In 2024, Dunaway returned to Cannes, attending the Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga premiere in a black suit alongside her son, Liam, and the director of her upcoming documentary, Laurent Bouzereau.
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