Twice as nice: 7 times Cate Blanchett recycled red carpet outfits – from Alexander McQueen at Tár awards nights to her Armani and Versace mash-up, the Oscar winner walks the talk on sustainability
The 53-year old Oscar winner never disappoints in her gorgeous outfits, rewearing in rare style. On reusing her dresses, Blanchett told The Hollywood Reporter that her decision to recycle her outfits was to promote sustainability and that throwing away glam dresses was “wilful and ridiculous” considering today’s environmental challenges.
Here are seven of her best moments breathing new life into old clothes while never failing to stun, every single time.
1. 2016 Costume Designers Guild Awards and 2023 Screen Actors Guild Awards
For the latest 2023 Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles, Blanchett showed up in a reworked dress that was a mix of two of her former gowns: a sequinned Versace that she previously wore at the 2016 Costumer Designers Guild Awards and a lace Giorgio Armani dress she wore twice before, in 2014 and 2018.
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During the 2023 award show, it was the lace work that stood out. The sequinned black Versace number was refitted around the neck with lace from her Armani, giving the slinky black sequinned dress a completely new look.
She completed her outfit with a touch of Louis Vuitton (she has been an ambassador since 2022): cocktail rings and earrings bearing the brand’s signature monogram flower design.
2. Oscars 2015 and BAFTAs 2023
The Ocean’s Eight star won the best leading actress award for her performance in her latest movie Tár at the 2023 BAFTAS and picked up the award in a stunning Maison Margiela dress she previously wore for the Oscars in 2015.
Blanchett reworked her black gown to make the sleeves and hem more prominent and accessorised her look with a Louis Vuitton necklace. Staying true to her sustainable slant, the necklace was of Tahitian pearls and tourmaline reused from other previous outfits, per Vogue.
The Australian actor wore a statement turquoise necklace by Tiffany & Co. when she wore the dress for the first time eight years ago.
3. Cannes 2018 and Berlin Film Festival 2023
Blanchett has stepped up her recycling game since the start of 2023. For the premiere of Tár at the 2023 Berlin Film Festival, the Lord of The Rings star chose to wear a Givenchy haute couture dress with a tiered rainbow skirt from spring 2018 – the very same one she wore to the Blackkklansman premiere at Cannes in 2018.
This time she changed up the velvet waistband of the previous version, replacing it with a classier wide leather belt.
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4. 2019 premiere and London Critics Film Awards 2023
Blanchett bagged another award when she won the actor of the year for Tár at the 2023 London Critics Film Awards – and she did it in style with a restructured Alexander McQueen suit, which she initially wore in 2019 for the premiere of her movie Where’d You Go Bernadette.
A business-style tux, the McQueen look erupts at the shoulders into vivid blue satin sleeves for extra fashion flair.
5. Venice Film Festival in 2020 and Governors Awards 2022
Another Alexander McQueen outfit, Blanchett wore the iconic deconstructed gown from the label’s spring/summer 2020 collection at the Governors Awards in 2022. A hard-to-forget dress, this was actually the very same one she wore for the Venice Film Festival in 2020.
While Blanchett usually makes minor changes to her wardrobe to bring a difference, this time she wore it almost exactly how she did previously, save for a slightly longer skirt and her blazer pinned to the left side of her waist.
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6. Tár UK premiere and Berlin Film Festival 2023
Blanchett has lately gotten a little more adventurous with her rewears, opting to wear the same top for different events just a few months apart.
The actress showed up for the London premier of Tár in a custom-made pink velvet Alexandre Vauthier top from the label’s spring 2022 haute couture collection and paired it with a matching skirt and statement Louis Vuitton earrings.
A couple of months later, she pulled off the same blouse at the Berlin Film Festival 2023, this time swapping the skirt for a more casual vibe with jet black vinyl trousers.
7. BFI London Film Festival 2015 and Venice Film Festival 2020
Blanchett first stunned in this caped Esteban Cortazar dress for the premiere of her romantic drama Carol at the BFI London Film Festival in 2015.
Then she showed up in the same “stingray” gown at the Venice Film Festival in 2020. Topping off that red carpet moment, Blanchett showed she is sincere about sustainable fashion by donating her dress to charity.
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She gave away that gown along with all the outfits she wore that year to an auction run by Chic Relief, an organisation that partnered with Red Carpet Advocacy, with all donations going to the educational company Facing History and Ourselves and UN Women.
- Blanchett shows her fashion chops by reworking looks from Givenchy, Maison Margiela and Esteban Cortazar, cleverly accessorising with jewellery from the likes of Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Co.
- The Ocean’s Eight and Lord of the Rings star is among the favourites to win a best actress gong at the 2023 Oscars for Tár, and auctioned off all the year’s red carpet dresses for charity in 2020