Nicole Kidman has by no means been one to rush a change. Her vogue evolution has unfolded regularly, intentionally, and with an virtually theatrical—she is nothing if not histrionic—sense of self-possession. Across 4 a long time of crimson carpets and international press excursions, she’s constructed a repute not solely as a formidable actor, however as one of many trade’s true couture collaborators.
Below, we hint the journey from her early, pure beginnings to the refined, architectural glamour she’s identified for as we speak.
Nicole Kidman within the Nineteen Nineties
Before she was a capital letters star, Nicole Kidman’s type mirrored the softness of youth: ethereal slip attire (in fact, an indicator of the period), simple suiting, and wild, fiery curls that may develop into her first signature. She arrived in Hollywood earlier than “undone glamour” was a development, and but that was precisely what she exuded. With minimal styling and fuss-free make-up, Kidman’s early crimson carpet appearances had an air of ease about them. Not precisely “girl-next-door” — she was all the time too distinctive a magnificence for that — however a sort of unaffected allure.
The ’90s noticed her embrace pale silks that accentuated her Pre-Raphaelite magnificence, bias cuts, and mild tailoring. All of it regarded easy; there wasn’t a lot as a whiff of the intense silhouettes she’d play with in later years. Even then, although, she had an intuition for proportion, sporting garments that framed quite than competed together with her top — a ability she’s perfected all through the years.
Nicole Kidman in 1997
Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise in 1997 on the 69th Annual Academy Awards
(Image credit score: Kevin Mazur Archive/WireImage by way of Getty Images)
Her relationship with vogue shifted dramatically in 1997 when she stepped onto the Oscars crimson carpet in that now-iconic chartreuse Dior robe. It was a daring, virtually surprising alternative on the time—uncommon in color, silhouette and power—and it positioned Kidman firmly within the firm of girls who didn’t simply costume for occasions, however formed them.
This was the second she stopped being merely a rising actress and have become a high-fashion determine. Designers took discover. Couture homes, significantly Dior and Chanel, started courting her. She was not borrowing attire off the rack; she was sporting items delivered straight from ateliers. It was right here that Kidman first stepped into the sort of fearless vogue dialog she would proceed to lead for many years.
Nicole Kidman within the 2000s
Moving into the 2000s, Kidman’s type began taking up a quieter sophistication. The lady with the curls turned the girl with the stainless chignon. Her crimson carpets have been outlined by icy pastels, mushy metallics, elegant ink-black robes, and basic silhouettes that nodded to Hollywood’s golden period. Satin column attire, crystal-embroidered bodices, delicate chiffon, and mushy tailoring changed her wild curls as signatures.
It was a interval of grace and restraint. She leaned into a elegant, virtually regal aesthetic — not boring, however startling, in a way. Her robes lengthened in line and construction, her equipment stayed minimal, and her magnificence decisions softened. Looking again, it’s clear that this period was when Nicole Kidman entered full Hollywood goddess mode: poised, managed, and luminous.
Nicole Kidman within the 2010s
And then got here the pivot. As each starlet is aware of, you’ve received to courtroom a bit of mystique and intrigue. In the 2010s, Kidman began experimenting with the avant-garde. If naysayers thought a satin “Absinthe” Dior robe was on the market, then you’ll be able to solely think about the reception when she emerged in a floor-skimming Gucci robe dripping in malachite sequins. The crowning contact? Beaded parrots perched on every shoulder like tropical epaulettes. There was extra to come, too: crimson carpet appearances within the 2010s have been punctuated with hyper-architectural silhouettes from McQueen and Valli, dramatic capes, extra high-voltage embellishment, and loads of kooky colors. Gone was the quiet glamour; if the early 2000s have been about an virtually majestic class, then the 2010s have been about vogue as efficiency — and it regarded like an entire lot of enjoyable.
Nicole Kidman within the 2020s
2020 heralded one other new vogue period, one which exemplifies a recent mix of modernism and maturity. Her type landed someplace between the audacity of the earlier decade and the refinement of her early years in Hollywood, bouncing between fluid robes and extremely structured couture items.
There have been minimalist pillar-box-red robes, razor-sharp tailoring, sculptural Armani Privé designs, and the mushy, stylish skirt fits she introduced again into rotation for press excursions. Even her most pared-back seems to be felt highly effective.
Nicole Kidman in 2025
(Image credit score: Angela WEISS / AFP) (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP by way of Getty Images)
In a profession that’s been peppered with greater than its fair proportion of vogue moments, Nicole Kidman’s 2025 Met Gala look shall be remembered as one of many key turning factors in her vogue story. Her tumbling Hollywood waves have been (seemingly) shorn right into a dramatic, two-tone pixie minimize that complemented her structured Balenciaga robe — an virtually actual reproduction of the eponymous founder’s 1952 unique. It was a kind of uncommon moments when a star’s look each honours vogue historical past and pushes it ahead.
What has made Nicole Kidman’s type evolution so compelling is the intention, in addition to the shock, behind each section. She’s a star who doesn’t appear to costume to please anybody however herself, and as such her vogue decisions have at instances felt like armour, artwork type, rebel, and reflection. She’s constructed relationships with designers which have spanned a long time, and refused to develop into tied to one singular type, selecting as a substitute to detour simply on the level the place you may in any other case find a way to name one thing ‘a Nicole Kidman look’. It’s exactly that playful experimentation and refusal to be boxed in that has made watching her subsequent transfer so compelling.
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