Elle Fanning Knows Exactly How to Own the 'A Complete Unknown' Red Carpet Circuit
Stylist Samantha McMillen explains how she worked with the star to subtly channel the 1960s—without dimming Fanning's love of runway fashion.
Whether the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown will take home golden trophies next January is anyone’s guess. Awards season voting has only just started, and stars of every major contender are busy on the "For Your Consideration" circuit. But if armchair fashion critics were the ones with the official ballots, and achievement in red carpet styling was its own category, Elle Fanning and stylist Samantha McMillen would be the front-runners.
The duo has spent the weeks leading up to A Complete Unknown’s Christmas-Day release churning out looks that walk the line between 1960s homage and modern runway. Whether the appearance is as big as an official premiere or as intimate as a talk show taping, Fanning’s looks have received unanimous praise. “Elle Fanning has been looking majestic this entire press tour,” declared a tweet with 1.4 million views, showcasing the actress in a heavenly white custom Gucci gown at A Complete Unknown’s Los Angeles premiere. A photo of Fanning in an oversize Saint Laurent suit and tie from the Spring 2025 runway came with 1.3 million views and the sort of upvote one rarely sees in online fashion forums: “Her stylist deserves a raise and a promotion.” If this were a movie review, Fanning’s outfits would be called “a revelation” or “a triumph.” But it’s fashion, so “she ate that” is what critics are saying instead.
Elle Fanning's A Complete Unknown red carpet journey ostensibly began at the 2024 Governors Awards, where she chose a dreamy Valentino gown from Alessandro Michele's first collection at the house.
Fanning debuted a custom, backless Gucci gown with Cartier jewels for the Los Angeles premiere. (Not pictured: Her very '60s Gucci platform sandals.)
Tapping into Anthony Vacarello’s Spring 2025 collection for a perfectly oversize suit, or calling in a custom strapless Prada gown, is practically an instinct at this point. McMillen and Fanning have worked together since 2011, when the actress was a pre-teen starring in Steven Spielberg’s Super 8. After 13 years of red carpets together, they have a strategy that works—one that’s delightfully distinct from red carpet trends. You’ll see a thoughtful reference, but never flat-out method dressing or shock-and-awe naked silhouettes.
“Elle and I have always liked to nod to the film or the era of the film she is promoting where possible when working on press tour wardrobe,” McMillen says in an email, “but without limiting her and her love for fashion and experimenting with things fresh off the runway.”
Fanning plays Sylvie Russo, a fictionalized take on one of Bob Dylan’s early girlfriends. A more on-the-nose interpretation of her style would entail all-out suede dresses or denim-on-denim like the sets she wears alongside Timothée Chalamet’s Dylan in the film. The racks they’ve called in for promo stops in New York, Los Angeles, and London so far have taken plenty from the Spring 2025 runways—a feather-lined Valentino dress here, a mod-Shushu/Tong shirt and skirt set there, a Bottega Veneta suit in between—while tipping their hats to the film’s vintage aesthetic. “With this campaign for A Complete Unknown, we veered mostly toward early 1960s shapes and details in both masculine and feminine silhouettes,” McMillen explains. “We also leaned into the folk singer vibe of the era here and there.”
The look that set fashion enthusiasts ablaze online was a straight-from-the-runway Saint Laurent suit, chosen for a London photocall.
Elle and I have always liked to nod to the film or the era of the film she is promoting [...] but without limiting her and her love for fashion.
At the New York City premiere, Fanning channeled '60s elegance in a Prada runway gown with Cartier jewelry and a bold red lip.
One of Fanning’s more Woodstock-appropriate looks required a stop by the architect of the modern boho-chic moment: Chemena Kamali of Chloé, for a lace top to wear over jeans with wedge sandals. Another entailed a suede Coach jacket over a Wolford bodysuit and denim, two textures McMillen mentions as a few of their go-tos for more casual appearances.
On the talk show and screening circuit, Fanning has worn everything from Michael Kors collection (shown here) to Ralph Lauren crochet sets and floral Valentino dresses.
Chemena Kamali-era Chloé allowed Fanning to tap into the folksy side of A Complete Unknown.
Fanning and McMillen have also worked emerging designers into the press tour, as with this Shushu/Tong skirt and blouse for an NYC screening.
But by and large, the Fanning-McMillen collaborations gaining heart-emoji reactions online have an element of glamour. With an assist from ’60s beauty staples like mod eyeliner and teased-up pigtails (for the custom Gucci), or soft curls and strategically-placed bobby pins (for the Saint Laurent suit), they’re ever-so-slightly reminiscent of the past without saying “costume.” Nothing suggests a copy-and-pasted memo from Fanning’s time on set in New Jersey. It’s more aligned with the Gucci she wore for the Cannes Film Festival this year or the Balmain couture she chose for the Met Gala: always appropriate for the task at hand while feeling distinctly Elle.
“We don’t like to spell it out,” McMillen says, “but if you pay attention it’s all there.” Just like a critically-acclaimed performance, subtlety always wins.
