From the runway to the red carpet, a dress with a hood is just about the coolest thing you can wear — just look to celebs like Hathaway, Jenna Ortega and Margot Robbie for proof.
This article was originally published on December 19, 2022 and has been updated.
We already know that Anne Hathaway is having an extended moment. Whether she’s experimenting with different red carpet looks or living it up at couture week in Paris, the amount of effs Annie gives these days amounts to approximately zero — and it’s working. Her laissez-faire attitude has translated into a cool factor many never expected from the actor, which means she’s pulling off looks, like this hooded Alaïa dress worn to the Berlinale International Film Festival in Berlin on February 16, with utter aplomb.
Another celebrity to watch on the red carpet — and front row at fashion week —is Jenna Ortega. After gracing the 2023 Golden Globes red carpet in a cut-out Gucci gown on January 10, the Wednesday star brought her signature moody aesthetic to the Saint Laurent Fall 2023 menswear presentation in Paris on January 17. For this stylish outing, the young actor joined Hathaway in co-signing the elevated hooded gown trend. Worn with wet-look bangs, black-rimmed eyes and a pair of sculptural cuff bracelets, Ortega gave the sleek look a goth-glam spin.
Margot Robbie is also thriving on the red carpet in recent months. While promoting her latest projects, the Australian actor is looking positively effervescent. There was the moss green Bottega Veneta cut-out dress she wore to the Governor’s Awards in November, a flirty buttercup Gucci mini-dress chosen for the The Hollywood Reporter’s Women In Entertainment Gala on December 7, and most recently, a moody black hooded, halter-neck gown from Alaïa’s Spring 2023 collection selected for the Los Angeles premiere of her upcoming film Babylon.
The star of the forthcoming Barbie movie complemented her hooded dress with natural makeup, a couple face-framing tendrils of hair, a silver cuff bracelet and a pair of black sheer pantyhose from Calzedonia (that, incidentally, cost about as much as a fancy latte).
While it takes a certain confidence level and style prowess to pull off a a fashion-forward ensemble like a hooded gown, the avant-garde style is by no means new. In fact, Grace Jones famously wore a shimmery magenta hooded gown to walk in Alaïa’s 1986 Spring haute couture show in Paris. Worn with dramatic tonal makeup, including a bold dark lip, and no accessories, the 1980s styling feels fresh today. The hood itself is a statement, so one doesn’t need to overdo it in the beauty and accessories departments, and Robbie and Ortega’s own looks reflect this “less is more” approach.
The resurgence of hooded dresses has been seen in recent months on both the red carpets and the runways. Versace’s Spring 2023 show featured a black hooded gown with a side cut-out, paired with exaggerated cat-eye makeup and vertiginous platform heels. Saint Laurent’s Spring 2023 collection (pictured above) included several slinky hooded dresses in rich jewel tones, worn with black sunnies and oversized, bold-shoulder toppers. The look here is clear: glamorous, cool, and a little dramatic.
And celebrities like Ashley Graham, above wearing a crystal-embellished mesh gown by Interior to the TIME Person of the Year reception earlier this month, have understood the assignment.
Bridgerton star Simone Ashley opted for a fresh, glittery blue take on the hooded dress trend for the Governor’s Awards in November, wearing the high-neck 16Arlington gown with wet look hair and mega-sparkly Chopard jewels.
TikTok creator Addison Rae turned heads, and cemented herself as a rising style star, in early November when she wore a futuristic grey hooded gown from the Lily et Cie vintage archives to the CFDA Awards in NYC.
And months before sparking a brand-new debate about the return of Y2K’s much-maligned dress-over-pants trend, Katie Holmes cut an edgy figure in a formfitting black hooded gown worn to attend Tom Ford’s spring 2023 ready-to-wear show in September.
Wouldn’t a hooded mini-dress be so fun for a fancy soirée? (Worn with glitter foundation and little else, of course.) Let 2023 be the year we wear hooded gowns and heck, anything else that might have once felt risqué or hard to pull off. And that includes dresses over pants.
