Why Cate Blanchett is re-wearing her old gowns for the 2020 Venice Film Festival

Cate Blanchett is breaking fashion’s cardinal rule at the 2020 Venice Film Festival this week. The actor, who is the festival’s jury president, is re-wearing old gowns, and for good reason. On Wednesday, she hit the red carpet for the event’s opening ceremony in Venice, Italy, in an Esteban Cortazar “Stingray” midnight blue shimmer jersey …

Cate Blanchett is breaking fashion’s cardinal rule at the 2020 Venice Film Festival this week. The actor, who is the festival’s jury president, is re-wearing old gowns, and for good reason.

On Wednesday, she hit the red carpet for the event’s opening ceremony in Venice, Italy, in an Esteban Cortazar “Stingray” midnight blue shimmer jersey gown from the designer’s spring 2016 collection. It’s not the first time she wore the ensemble, either.

In 2015, Blanchett, 51, appeared in the same look at the BFI London Film Festival “Carol” premiere.

Long gone are the days when stars could wear beautiful designer dresses on the red carpet only once. Blanchett is proof that the old-fashion standard is slowly, but surely, coming to a halt.

By vowing to re-wear old dresses at the Venice Film Festival this year, Blanchett is making a case for sustainability. “It’s chic to repeat,” her stylist, Elizabeth Stewart, posted on Instagram yesterday. “When planning for any important event, make sure to look in your own closet first! Clothes are meant to be cherished and worn again and again. Even if you are a world-famous actress.”

“In her words, beautiful things can come out of sustainability!” she added.

In addition, Blanchett will be donating the dresses she wears, including the Esteban Cortazar gown, to the RAD at VENICE advocacy campaign. As part of the initiative, dresses will be auctioned off, with 100% of the proceeds benefiting nonprofit Facing History and Ourselves as well as UN Women.

“Cate has decided to re-wear some of her most cherished looks from the past and I am beyond honored to be part of this unforgettable moment and beautiful initiative, which gives a more profound purpose to the idea of the red carpet,” designer Cortazar wrote on Instagram.

Cate Blanchett in Alexander McQueen at the 2020 Venice Film Festival (L) and the 2016 BAFTA Awards (R).Getty Images

On Thursday, Blanchett recycled another look from 2016 for the “Amants” premiere, arriving in the same Alexander McQueen gown she wore to that year’s BAFTA Awards. By altering the dress into a top and pairing it with black trousers, she gave the piece — which will also be auctioned off — a new lease on life.

See more of the Venice Film Festival’s best red carpet moments below:

Who says the red carpet is dead? The 2020 Venice Film Festival kicked off on Wednesday, September 2, and while this year’s event might look quite different from previous fests — face masks, temperature checks and social distancing rules will all be strictly enforced, for starters — the fashion’s back in full force.

And while many American celebs will likely choose to stay home this year due to the ongoing pandemic, we can expect plenty of stellar looks from fashion icons like Cate Blanchett (who’s serving as jury chair) and Tilda Swinton (who’s receiving a lifetime achievement award) in the week to come.

Here, see all the best socially-distanced style moments from Venice.

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