Vogue World Hollywood has kicked off, and Nicole Kidman, newly-minted Chanel ambassador and icon of entertainment, has opened the proceedings.
The actor opened the runway presentation at the iconic Paramount Studios lot wearing a custom Chanel dress by Matthieu Blazy. The silk gown was a nod to Gilda, the 1946 film starring actor and dancer Rita Hayworth, one of the most beloved icons of cinema’s golden age. She walked down the studio strip, turned into a runway for just one day, while taking direction from Baz Luhrmann, a fellow Australian and one of her longest-term collaborators.
Shortly after, Kendall Jenner walked the runway wearing a corseted bodysuit and top hat resembling the one Kidman wore to play Satine in Moulin Rouge—directed by Luhrmann, no less.
For the uninitiated, Vogue World is a starry one-night-only annual runway show hosted by Vogue, which brings together all facets of fashion, culture and celebrity under one starry umbrella. It is currently in its fourth year; past shows have taken place in New York, London and Paris. The runway and front-row are filled with sport, fashion, music and film stars in equal measure, but the lineup for Vogue World Hollywood—in the celebrity mecca of Los Angeles—promises its most unmissable event yet, in an evening filled with tributes to the city’s importance in cinema. It was presented in several segments nodding to different eras of Hollywood history.
As the current cover star of American Vogue, it made sense for Kidman to open the proceedings. She recently re-signed as an ambassador for Chanel, but the actor has a long history with the house, including a famous crossover with Luhrmann. The Australian actor was the face of Luhrmann’s Chanel No. 5 campaign and short film, which was released in 2004; at the time it was the most expensive commercial ever made. Chanel’s beloved former designer Karl Lagerfeld was the subject of the 2023 Met Gala, and Kidman paid homage to his legacy on its red carpet by re-wearing the gauzy feather-trimmed dress from the commercial, which Lagerfeld designed.
Kidman’s relationship with Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin goes back further. The actor and director first met working on a 1994 issue of Vogue Australia, which Kidman appeared on the cover of, and which was guest-edited by Luhrmann. They eventually collaborated on Moulin Rouge, for which Kidman was nominated for her first Academy Award for Best Actress, and for which Martin won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design. Kidman, Luhrmann and Martin also collaborated on the films Australia and its spin-off Faraway Downs.
It made sense for Kidman to once again represent the house when Matthieu Blazy became artistic director. She attended his debut show in Paris earlier this month. Her outfit—a white shirt by French shirt-maker and tailor Charvet, lined at the hem with the house’s classic leather and metal chain—was another twist on the house’s history, made new.
Under the shining lights at Vogue World Hollywood, in an outfit that paid homage to movie history, even more fashion magic was born.
