When Hollywood’s biggest names gather in Venice for the annual Film Festival, fashion commands nearly as much attention as cinema, bringing an array of glamorous gowns and sharp tuxedos into the spotlight.
Not every ensemble makes the desired impression, though, with some celebrities choosing difficult-to-pull-off silhouettes while others seem to lose their way between the initial concept and the final styling.
The 2026 edition was no exception, proving that bold choices do not always translate into beautiful results.
Hence, here are 15 of the most questionable celebrity ensembles to grace the event’s red carpet this year.
#1 Brooklyn Beckham & Nicola Peltz
Nicola Peltz attended the Kinéo Award segment of the Venice Film Festival to accept the Rising Star honor for her acting in Prima.
She wore a Balenciaga creation with daring hip cutouts, an asymmetric neckline, and a veil-like panel for her big day.
Beside her, her husband Brooklyn Beckham kept things simple in a black suit, but let his longer, shaggier hair do the talking.
The pair engaged in plenty of PDA, embracing and kissing on the red carpet. However, none of it was enough to distract viewers from criticizing their looks.
“The dress looks like she wrapped a curtain around herself,” one person said.
“The cutout makes it look like she got caught in something and fabric ripped off,” another added.
Comments about Brooklyn were more scathing, with one person advising, “Wash your hair.”
The event marked the spouses’ first major public appearance since Brooklyn accused his parents, David and Victoria Beckham, of trying to “ruin” their relationship and claimed they had pressured him to sign away rights to his name.
Image source: JB Lacroix
#2 Pamela Anderson
The Baywatch actress stepped onto the Venice carpet in a skin-tight floral dress with elongated and flowy sleeves, wearing her hair loose in soft waves and barely-there makeup.
She, after all, didn’t seem to need many additions to glow, with the recent news of her son Brandon Thomas Lee’s engagement making headlines worldwide.
She told Vogue it was an “emotional moment” to watch her child get married.
Yet the conversation soon turned to print and proportion.
Some commenters felt her sleeves were so voluminous they “swallowed her,” while others went further, arguing that the styling looked more “garden party” appropriate than film festival-ready.
Pamela, however, appeared unfazed by the fashion criticism as she spoke about surviving a now-curable but once-terminal illness at the amfAR Gala, a charity event known for raising money to fund HIV and AIDS research.
Sharing that she was given 10 years at most to live after being diagnosed with hepatitis C in the late 1990s, the actress said, “It was like a d**th sentence.”
Pamela said she felt “shame and guilt” after her diagnosis and that the experience still “haunts” her.
Films, however, became an outlet for her to express herself, she said.
“It gave me the ammunition I needed, a fertile life to use and play.”
Image source: JB Lacroix , JB Lacroix
#3 Kendall Jenner
Kendall Jenner glided into the Wild Horse Nine screening in a gold-beaded floral Armani gown, with the dress catching every light of the evening.
Her styling leaned into old Hollywood glamour, with a fitted bodice and elegantly low neckline that demanded a second look.
And a second look it got, although the observations that followed were hardly in the model’s favor.
“She and Kylie love to pull up in a boring dress,” an X user said.
Another person wasn’t particularly impressed by a non-Hollywood personality appearing on the red carpet at a film festival.
“Please don’t tell me she was there because she is a horse girlie?” they asked.
Image source: Daniele Venturelli, Stefania D’Alessandro
#4 Emily Alyn Lind
Emily Alyn Lind, who attended the screening of the mystery anthology film Company, stepped out in a black lace gown steeped in gothic romance, featuring a Victorian-style bodice, high neckline, and long sleeves.
The fitted waist gave way to a ruffled skirt that flowed into a dramatic trailing train.
At first glance, fans seemed impressed by the number. Then they saw the back.
“I was looking at this dress on Emily Alyn Lind, thinking: wow, nice silhouette. But then I scrolled to the back view and… whose idea was the zipper?” one commenter asked.
“This looks like what I ordered vs. what I got post,” another quipped.
Image source: Michael Buckner , Daniele Venturelli
#5 John Malkovich
John Malkovich arrived at the Wild Horse Nine screening in a loose black Dior suit, elevated by a dramatic pleated Peter Pan-style collar.
That single detail was enough to dominate the conversation around his appearance.
For detractors, the ensemble looked more like something a “period drama extra” would wear than a contemporary leading man.
“Did the stylist call in sick?” another person joked.
A third kept it simple, calling the look “ridiculous.”
Image source: Alessandro Levati , Elisabetta A. Villa
#6 Georgina Rodriguez
Georgina Rodriguez made her first high-profile appearance in Venice since marrying Cristiano Ronaldo, sporting a Gucci look.
For the premiere of Mr. Nelson, Did You Kill People?, she opted for an ensemble featuring a structured jacket and long pencil skirt, accessorized with a 50-carat Chopard diamond necklace.
The enormous gem, however, did little to improve the outfit’s reception.
Fashion critics felt the heavy tailoring exuded nothing but a “business lunch” vibe.
The comments came shortly after Rodriguez was body-shamed over her fuller figure compared with her previous size.
Ronaldo, however, came to his wife’s defense, writing under an Instagram reel, “She is the best in the world.”
He also suggested that such criticism often stems from envy, reportedly telling Rodriguez privately, “It’s normal for people to be jealous of you.”
Image source: Alessandro Levati , Alessandra Benedetti – Corbis
#7 Penélope Cruz
Penélope Cruz brought plenty of classic Hollywood glamour to the Bunker premiere in a custom red Chanel gown by Matthieu Blazy, complete with a fitted profile and a dramatic thigh-high slit.
The color and cut initially made the look an easy standout, but one fashion critic was left puzzled by the floral embellishment cinched around her middle.
“Gorgeous color and fit, but that ring of fake flowers is baffling,” they wrote.
Her newly highlighted bob also became part of the conversation, with some social media users calling the hairstyle-and-gown combination unflattering.
The debate over her fashion came alongside a much more serious conversation about the film, as she used the festival to speak about politics and Gaza.
Cruz said it would be “contradictory” to attend Venice with Bunker and not discuss such issues given the film’s themes.
Speaking about people making decisions with enormous technological and political power, she asked, “Is there a gene they lack that makes them lose empathy?”
Image source: Stephane Cardinale – Corbis , Alessandro Levati
#8 Nina Dobrev
Nina Dobrev opened the festival in a strapless Armani Privé gown featuring an asymmetric neckline, glossy black embellishments, and olive-green panels that formed a long train before fading into a smoky, semi-sheer effect around her legs.
Her hair was pulled back into a sleek bun, while her makeup was dewy and nearly nonexistent.
Still, the elements did not come together to create the magic a red-carpet appearance usually aims for, at least according to some critics.
“Who is responsible for her makeup, wardrobe and hair? Literally trying to sabotage her,” one person said.
The criticism of her look, however, was nothing compared with the embarrassment she faced when a security guard appeared to ask her to move away from the red carpet.
The clip quickly went viral, with Dobrev seen making a pinched face in response.
“Kicked out,” a detractor noted about the moment.
Image source: Aurore Marechal , Alessandro Levati
#9 Maggie Gyllenhaal
Maggie Gyllenhaal attended the premiere of 15/18 A Place To Heal in Balenciaga couture by Pierpaolo Piccioli.
The look played with volume through the bottom half and crumpled textures, leaning into the fashion house’s architectural language.
Fans appeared to appreciate the dress, with some praising its “dark glam” aesthetic.
The styling, however, was another matter.
“I think the hair looks greasy and she looks so washed out. Shampoo, blush and a necklace would have made the difference for me here,” one person said.
“If she had done something like a fun shoe color, that would have worked too,” another remarked.
Image source: Stephane Cardinale – Corbis , Dominique Charriau
#10 Robert Pattinson & Suki Waterhouse
Robert Pattinson’s next project, Primetime, brings the mid-2000s golden age of broadcast sensationalism to life.
While debuting the same at the Venice Film Festival, the actor appeared to channel his character in a loosely fitted striped Dior Homme suit by Jonathan Anderson, paired with a striped cranberry tie and brown loafers.
Criticism followed swiftly, with a Redditor writing, “I know oversized suits are in style but they just aren’t flattering. They weren’t flattering back in the day either.”
His longtime fiancée and baby mama Suki Waterhouse, meanwhile, was called out for steering clear of the vintage aesthetic in her Saint Laurent gauzy gold lace mini dress with pink cuffs.
“She did not even try to match his bohemian chic. They looked like they stepped out of two different generations,” a critic wrote.
Fashion policing aside, the couple looked elated after Primetime scored an enthusiastic nine-minute standing ovation following the screening.
Image source: Andreas Rentz
#11 Claire Foy
Claire Foy opened the Venice Film Festival in a scarlet Bottega Veneta satin gown with a sleeveless scooped neckline, a knotted waist detail, and a vented back.
Her look faced immediate rejection from netizens, not just because of its individual accents but also because of the accessories she chose to pair with it.
Swarovski jewelry and Christian Louboutin platform sandals were “wasted” on what one X user considered a “below-average look.”
The criticism surrounding her outfit coincided with controversy around her movie, Ink, which she was there to promote, after director Danny Boyle confirmed that he used generative AI to recreate figures such as Margaret Thatcher and the Kray brothers.
For some, the revelation was enough to pull their support from the title.
“If it were not for its use of AI, the film would have deserved a genuine rave,” one person said.
Image source: Dave Benett , Dave Benett
#12 Kate & Rooney Mara
Kate and Rooney Mara arrived for the Bucking Fastard premiere in complementary black-and-white looks, working with stylists Johnny Wujek and Ryan Hastings, respectively.
Kate wore a sequin-covered black-and-white Armani Privé gown with a geometric neckline and oversized pearl detail, while Rooney chose a custom Stella McCartney column dress with a ruched bubble hem.
The sisters’ coordinated approach earned praise for creating a sense of unity without having them wear matching outfits.
Not everyone was convinced, though. Some fashion critics felt Rooney’s sculptural hem looked more like an “art installation” than a red-carpet statement, while Kate’s geometric neckline and oversized pearl accent were considered too close to costume territory.
One X user argued that the combined effect felt more like a “concept shoot” than organic festival glamour.
Image source: Daniele Venturelli
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