Amal Clooney has spent the better part of a decade turning the Venice Film Festival into her personal color showcase, from fuchsia taffeta to butter-yellow corsetry to lilac-and-pink ombré silk chiffon. So her choice for the festival's opening ceremony on September 2 registered as a real departure: a custom black gown by Tom Ford, designed by Haider Ackermann.
The 83rd Venice International Film Festival opened Wednesday with the premiere of Danny Boyle's "Ink," and with the ceremony honoring George Clooney with the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, presented by Laura Dern. Amal accompanied her husband of nearly 12 years on the red carpet, with George in a classic Giorgio Armani tuxedo.
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Amal's gown was far from a simple black dress. Multiple outlets covering the look described a fitted, floor-length silhouette built from narrow sculptural panels with irregular, razor-sharp pleating, rendered in black silk taffeta. The design played with transparency and texture, pairing black translucent side panels against a charcoal gray center panel to create an hourglass effect down the length of the dress, along with a high slit up the back. At the neckline, patent leather piping traced a geometric line that extended into thin straps draped off the shoulders, giving the otherwise monochrome gown a hard, architectural edge. She paired the look with black patent leather Vertigo pumps, an ankle-strap style with a sharply pointed toe and a 105-millimeter stiletto heel, also from Tom Ford.
The black gown capped a fashion-forward arrival to Venice for Amal this week. A day earlier, she stepped off the water taxi in an olive green silk three-piece set, also by Tom Ford and Haider Ackermann, consisting of a scoop-neck tank, drawstring shorts and an undone blazer layered on top, paired with black pointed-toe heels. Both looks mark a shift toward Tom Ford's newly reimagined design point of view under Haider Ackermann, and a broader pivot for Amal away from the flowing, Old Hollywood-inspired gowns that have defined her past Venice appearances toward sharper, more sculpted silhouettes.
Amal Clooney Has Been on a Tom Ford Pump Streak in Venice https://t.co/27vfAvESoC
— WWD (@wwd) September 2, 2026
The contrast with her recent Venice history is notable. Last year, she wore a vintage fuchsia Jean-Louis Scherrer gown with a high-low hem and dramatic train to the "Jay Kelly" premiere, preceded by a custom pastel-yellow Balmain gown for her arrival look. In 2024, she alternated between a Bach Mai gown with ombré pailette fringe and a pale yellow custom Atelier Versace design. Venice has personal significance for the Clooneys beyond the red carpet: it's where the couple married in 2014, and the city has since become a recurring backdrop for some of Amal's most talked-about fashion moments.
For a red carpet regular known almost as much for her color choices as her tailoring, the black gown stands out precisely because it withholds the expected. It signals that Amal's Venice wardrobe this year is being built around structure and craftsmanship rather than her usual jewel-toned statement pieces, a shift worth watching as the festival continues through September 12.
