Cate Blanchett has long championed sustainability on the red carpet—but tonight, the actor slipped into perhaps her most daring ode to recycled fashion yet. In London, Blanchett stepped out to The Serpentine Summer Party in a striking runway top composed entirely out of shells and safety-pins—a statement that blurred the lines between found-object art and high fashion.
As an avid champion of independent fashion, it’s fitting that Blanchett’s artful blouse hailed from Dilara Findikoglu’s fall 2025 collection. Aptly titled “Venus from Chaos,” the show took inspiration from the Goddess of Love herself, Venus. For the mythology uninitiated, she was said to have been born from the sea, emerging from an oyster shell. Blanchett’s top began with a dramatic high collar dripping in layers of mismatched pearl strands. It then moved into a faux bra crafted from seafront trinkets and finished with padded hips that were exaggerated by two large conches on either side.
Findikoglu presented the showpiece with a pair of embossed black trousers on the runway, but it should come as no surprise that Blanchett put her own spin on the look. She paired the top with a fitted mermaid skirt with raw-edge hems. Similarly distressed heels and a tousled updo rounded everything out.
There’s no doubt that Blanchett is one of the most imaginative red carpet dressers out there. Of course, the actor is renowned for up-cycling her own clothes, but she’s also made a habit out of turning expected materials into wearable art as she did this evening. In August 2024, Blanchett turned to another fashion insider label during her Borderlands press tour. She wore a metallic shirt from the cult Swedish brand, Hodakova, that was designed out of over a hundred vintage spoons. In true Blanchett style, she later up-cycled the look into a chic power coat trimmed with spoons.
Picking out a red carpet ensemble is no easy feat. But Blanchett is proof that the perfect look doesn’t always require scouring the shop floor—sometimes, rifling through the cutlery drawer or combing the shoreline will do instead.
