The white lace gown, which featured an oversized black bow, was designed by Sarah Burton for Givenchy.
Updated on January 04, 2026 02:49PM
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Key Takeaways
- Elle Fanning’s Oscars gown, designed by Sarah Burton for Givenchy, features vintage-inspired lace, a cape-train, and a bold black bow.
- The gown’s bridal-worthy details, like French Lyon lace and silk tulle, echo Burton’s work on Kate Middleton’s iconic wedding dress.
- Fanning completed her timeless look with a 1958 Cartier choker and a design inspired by Givenchy’s 1952 collection.
Elle Fanning has been busy promoting her new movie A Complete Unknown, the Bob Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet, over the past few months, and while all of her recent sartorial choices have been beautiful in their own right, her latest look is the one the editors at BRIDES are most excited about. Tonight, March 2, 2025, Fanning stepped out for the 2025 Oscars in a white lace gown created by none other than Sarah Burton for Givenchy, and the vintage-inspired look is one we anticipate every 2025 bride-to-be will want to copy.
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Fanning arrived at the 97th Academy Awards, where A Complete Unknown is a Best Picture nominee, wearing an A-line lace gown with a modified sweetheart neckline and an oversized black bow. According to Vogue, she is the first person to wear a custom haute couture look from Burton as creative director of the French design house. "This year marks my first time ever attending the Academy Awards. And it’s an honor to be the first woman to wear a Sarah Burton Couture Givenchy design!" Fanning told the outlet.
John Shearer/97th Oscars / Contributor / Getty Images
The gown, which is made from white French Lyon lace and silk tulle and belted with a black grosgrain bow, also features a dramatic hybrid combination of a cape and a train that flows from the mid-back—a feature we expect to see in many wedding dresses moving forward.
It should come as no surprise that Burton understands how to create a bridal-worthy gown. After all, Burton was the creative behind Kate Middleton's 2011 wedding dress, which she designed while serving as creative director for Alexander McQueen. The long-sleeved lace ball gown quickly became one of the most popular bridal looks to date, with women still clamoring for lookalike styles for their own wedding dates well over a decade later. “It has been the experience of a lifetime to work with Catherine Middleton to create her wedding dress, and I have enjoyed every moment of it," the designer said on the day of Middleton's wedding to Prince William. "It was such an incredible honor to be asked, and I am so proud of what we and the Alexander McQueen team have created. I am delighted that the dress represents the best of British craftsmanship.”
As for why Fanning chose the statement-making white gown for the 2025 Oscars? “We’ve done this together before for Cannes, but I will never tire of watching her create…cutting and draping right on my body!" she told. Vogue. "Five dresses hung on the rack, but there was a white toile so elegant and eye-catching, we all silently knew it was the winner.” The outlet further notes that Burton drew inspiration from Hubert de Givenchy’s first collection and referenced a gown once worn by Ivy Nicholson in 1952 when designing the look.
Fanning's other accessories of choice? A Cartier choker from 1958 and a watch, further emphasizing her gown's vintage vibe.
