Amal and George Clooney may have absconded from Venice Film Festival to see out the summer in Lake Como, but Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem are more than capable of keeping the red carpet feeling glamorous and alive as the city’s current most fashionable duo.
The famously private couple brought a welcome dose of old-school movie-star glamour to the step-and-repeat, proving that when it comes to coordinated couple dressing, few do it quite so effortlessly.
The couple are in the romantic Italian city for the premiere of Bunker. So far, Bunker has been the most enthusiastically received film of the festival, as last night, the movie enjoyed a 15.5 minute standing ovation. (That’s just short of the 17 minute clap for Pedro Almodóvar’s The Room Next Door in 2024.) Cruz cried tears of joy and the couple of almost 20 years kissed passionately.
For the occasion, Cruz opted for a custom tomato red Chanel gown with a square-cut neckline, body-contouring silhouette and feathery fabric-trimmed waist detail, and high thigh-slit. She wore matching stilettos and accessorized with glittering diamond earrings and a matching ring. Her blonde-highlighted bob was styled sleek and straight with the ends turned in. Bardem, beside her, chose a classic, impeccably tailored black tuxedo, his own salt-and-pepper hair coiffed.
Their arrival to Venice earlier this week was just as chic. Checking into the Hotel Excelsior, Cruz wore a black wrap Ferragamo dress with a gold clasp and matching slingback pumps, a beige Chanel bag and cat-eye sunglasses. Bardem looked relaxed and cool in a sky blue shirt, dark-wash blue jeans, and white and brown sneakers.
For Bunker ’s photo call, she also opted for Chanel, wearing a black dress with feathered floral details at the neckline and a gathered bust., a matching black shoulder bag, and black strappy heels. Bardem sported a louche camel suit with a pinstripe blue shirt.