I find the art of styling to be fascinating. Shailene works with Ilaria Urbinati — one of the best — and I feel like you can see a visual story at work if you look at what she’s wore for the Snowden events so far. For example, this dress feels related to the dress she wore here, a couple of days ago.
Same designer, but different styling, and totally different vibe — and you can definitely see connective tissue between them. That, to me, is fascinating, and why I think the art of clothing a celebrity is so interesting. Clothes say something — sometimes they say “I just don’t give a shit,” although that’s not the case here; sometimes they say, “this event is not about my outfit,” and that’s okay too — and trying to interpret what they’re saying about a celebrity on something like a press junket is endless compelling, to me. What’s being sold to us? It’s not always only just a movie — a lot of times, it’s also that celebrity’s ideal image, their positioning in the public eye. Which is, of course, why Kate Middleton doesn’t dress like Gwen Stefani and vice versa. On this Snowden press tour, I feel like Shailene is trying to look more serious — which is smart, given the movie’s subject matter and the fact that she’s transitioning out of teen roles and into adult ones. Yesterday, that Valentino felt a little TOO serious for her. But this feels like good marriage of person and professional goal — or, at least, what I imagine her professional goal to be. Do I LOVE it beyond all comprehension? Not really. It needs a little hoik and I ALWAYS think the Wet Hair look is impossible to pull off if you’re not on the runway (as much as I wish I could trot outside with wet hair and have it look really fashionable). But I think I get where she’s trying to go.
[Photo: Getty Images]
