At the London premiere of Argylle, all eyes were on Dua Lipa’s gown — a sparkling Gucci number, styled with tousled red locks.
Oscar nominations? What Oscar nominations? Dua Lipa might have missed out on a nod from the Academy for her Barbie summer anthem “Dance The Night”, but the British popstar is on to the next big thing: her film debut. Lipa gave the London premiere of spy thriller Argylle the same fashion treatment as she would any Hollywood awards ceremony. No matter that the showcase was at the Odeon Luxe in Leicester Square. No matter that Storm Jocelyn was closing in. The red carpet demands drama! Dua’s answer? Gucci.
Lipa wore one of new creative director Sabato De Sarno’s first gowns for the house, which has a certain cultural caché in itself. (The other model of his inaugural eveningwear was Taylor Swift.) We imagine she went to De Sarno with a very specific brief: pop vixen meets ruthless assassin with a penchant for couture. Dua Lipa’s gown dripping with painstakingly applied burgundy micro paillettes was worthy of its own Bond cameo, thanks to the way Lipa held herself: one hand in her mussed-up Ariel-red hair, both eyes fixed on the camera with a sultry death stare.
The strapless, curvaceous Old Hollywood silhouette has defined Dua’s awards season wardrobe, but more importantly, it hints at what’s to come at Gucci, where De Sarno has shown just two collections. Following former creative director Alessandro Michele’s maximalist juggernaut is no small task, but the former Valentino designer is quickly establishing that his house vision is less Alessandro adjacent and more in line with Tom Ford’s Gucci. Think: hot pants over cardis; bare torsos instead of twee brooches. Pooling his additional design experiences at Prada and Dolce & Gabbana, Sabato’s intriguing proposition suits pop powerhouses, such as Dua, who are chameleons in their own right. She might wear Versace in the film, but secret agent Lipa is a killer Gucci asset on the red carpet.
Originally published in Vogue.co.uk