Lights, Camera, Couture: Inside Vogue World 2025
Francesca Finistrella
I was first reminded of the annual Vogue World event when my TikTok FYP was flooded with clips of a supermodel-packed American Airlines plane, strutting, waving and dancing en route to sunny Los Angeles. As I sat through a compilation of aisle struts featuring Alex Consani and Lila Moss – eye patches and all – I realised that, despite being a Vogue fanatic, I had no idea what this event was really about.
Since its inception in 2022 in post-Covid Manhattan, Vogue World has taken the form of an open-air runway parade, an ode to the performing arts. Designed to be a global phenomenon, Vogue World was hosted the following year at London’s historic Theatre Royal Drury Lane, travelling to Paris’ Place Vendôme in 2024, and finally landing in Hollywood for its fourth edition.
On October 26th, the Paramount Studios Lot was taken over by a star-studded cast setting up a performance like no other. This edition aimed to highlight the ongoing love affair between fashion and cinema, a relationship that this year seems stronger than ever, with projects such as Demna’s short film The Tiger unveiling his Gucci debut or Vogue Italia’s collaboration with Kering in the film series Cinemoda Club.
Vogue World: Hollywood set out to honour the work of costume designers throughout the ages, unravelling across seven acts and countless iconic character references. Following Nicole Kidman’s opening musical number as Gilda dazzling in head-to-toe custom Chanel came a parade of models, celebrities and actors embodying everything from old-age Hollywood glamour to the gleefully gothic Edward Scissorhands, to the opulent elegance of Marie Antoinette.
Vogue World existed in its own macrocosm, a chaotic, nostalgic universe that felt at once avant-garde and timeless. A street turned runway, casts turned models, backstage turned main stage and a to-and-fro of clothing racks, lights and sets. In this Saltburn-esque performance, archival and show costumes, couture and current runway came together. The iconic Clueless plaid ensemble brushed shoulders with Roman armour, weaving through two-tiered rococo wigs.
The penultimate act, after Gracie Abrams’ That’s so True intermission, featured a nod to the Afrofuturism of Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther, with a fleet of Balmain-clad dancers marching to the futuristic beats of Kendrick Lamar. With richly worked fabrics and silhouettes, Vogue returned to celebrating visions of Blackness as highlighted in this past year’s MET Gala.
As the raspy voice of director Baz Luhrmann called it a wrap, the onlookers flooded the runway, joining the circus themselves.
In a world where print is constantly trying to reinvent itself, this event showcased Vogue’s effort to diversify its media production. Heralding this turn is Anna Wintour, at the forefront of Vogue operations despite her recent change in role. “Fashion is changing and Vogue is doing something special to celebrate it – a fashion show-meets-street fair that captures the creative spirit of our community now,” remarked the now global editorial director. Perhaps her appointment of Chloe Malle, former editorial director of Vogue.com, is an initial stepping stone to a more digitally driven fashion narrative.
Wintour remarks, “Fashion makes cinema real; cinema makes fashion dream.” Plucked from the set of a dreamlike cinematic epic, Vogue World 2025 reminds us that fashion isn’t just worn — it’s performed.
Cover Photo by Laura Chouette on Unsplash
