Two Birds With One Stone: Breaking Down the Julia Roberts and Amanda Seyfried Versace Stunt

This article originally appeared on Vogue Business.

Once upon a time, in the pre-social media age in which television reigned supreme, Joan Rivers used to host Fashion Police on E! Entertainment Television. It was a time. As part of the non-politically correct show (was this the most cancellable show on TV? Hardly, but it had its moments), there was a segment titled Bitch Stole My Look, in which Rivers and her co-hosts would pair up celebrities wearing the same or similar looks and choose a winner. This now feels like an outdated, pre-Me Too relic of the kind of lo-fi entertainment that would prey on women and the way they looked for the sake of. Celebrities and their stylists now work extremely hard to secure exclusive, unique looks — this is the kind of thing that doesn’t happen anymore.

Case in point: Monday in Venice, on the occasion of the annual film festival, Amanda Seyfried appeared on a photo call wearing a navy blazer, blue jeans, and a striped shirt by Dario Vitale for Versace, the very same one that Julia Roberts wore to much commotion just this past Friday, also in Venice. There is a reason for the online discourse around the look: it’s the very first one we are seeing from Vitale, who took over from Donatella Versace earlier this year. Consider this Vitale’s soft launch of the collection he’ll unveil later this month during Milan Fashion Week. By dressing both Roberts and Seyfried in practically one weekend, Versace secured twice the attention for one single look — not too shabby, no?

Soft Launching

It’s tough competition out there. Since Timothée Chalamet wore Haider Ackermann’s new Tom Ford to the Golden Globes in January of this year — a month before the runway debut of said collection — labels with debuting designers, of which there are 15 this upcoming Spring/Summer 2026 season, have been leveraging celebrities and the red carpet to tease their collections. Chalamet himself reprised the part at the Oscars, wearing Sarah Burton’s new Givenchy alongside Elle Fanning. (You can read more about this from yours truly here.)

The celebrity soft launch is a strategy that has seemed effective in that it makes the insular, industry-first news moments that are new designers and their runway debuts, transcend from the bubble of fashion and into pop culture. Keep in mind that everyone, from Tom Ford and Givenchy to Bottega Veneta and Dior, both of which dressed celebrities in Venice with new looks from their respective designers debuting this month (Louise Trotter for the former and Jonathan Anderson for the latter), is doing this, which makes it less interesting for us as an audience. How to break through the noise? Versace seems to have a new idea, making this first look debuted by Roberts a news item twice over by also placing it on Seyfried.

The Stylist/Brand Factor

It must be said, and this is a crucial tidbit of information, that Roberts and Seyfried both work with the same stylist, Elizabeth Stewart. Stewart is known largely for her work with Cate Blanchett, particularly in how the actor has made a point of rewearing some of her previous red carpet looks — she did so in Venice last week with an Armani Privé dress she first wore in 2022. In fact, this was the hook for the Roberts-meets-Seyfried situation: Seyfried commented on Stewart’s post featuring Roberts in the outfit, asking to wear the same look, subsequently doing so and posting the look herself, thanking Roberts for “sharing”.

Cate Blanchett wearing an Armani Privé dress to the Venice Film Festival last week.

Photo: Gisela Schober/ Getty Images

Blanchett wearing the same dress to the SAG Awards in 2022.

Photo: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin

Versace confirmed that Seyfried and Roberts are indeed wearing the same look. “We are thrilled that Amanda loved what Julia wore so much that she wanted to wear it herself,” a rep for the brand shared via email, explaining that, via Stewart, Seyfried asked Versace for permission to rewear the look. “The more we can encourage the notion of celebrating great women, having great moments, and embodying the brand, from day to night, the more we will bring Versace closer to the reality of today’s consumer,” the rep added. “Even if that means wearing the best pieces in your wardrobe more than once.”

Now, two celebrities wearing the same outfit is not necessarily breaking ground as it pertains to making fashion sustainable. But it does make for a cute, effective social media stunt. While the fashion pocket of the internet is arguing whether the look is good enough to be worn twice — this is me paraphrasing a DM I received about this from a well-regarded industry person — the general public seems charmed by the play, judging by comments on both Seyfried and Stewart’s posts.

And here’s the thing: us fashion people often forget that we know too much. We know that this is a marketing opportunity, we know that they share a stylist, and we know how all of this works. Taking all of that out of the equation, this is an effective, successful move from Versace to maximise this first look.

Making Sense of the Look

Ah, the look. A particularly fascinating portion of this soft launch strategy is that not all of the looks we see on celebrities will be seen on the runway. Burton showed a mini version of the dress Fanning wore to the Oscars, and it remains to be seen whether Jonathan Anderson will bring some of what we’ve seen in Venice to the runway. As it pertains to this look, Versace shared that the look was designed with Roberts in mind and is also a preview of “times to come at Versace”. “The irreverent iconography and iconic classicism of a great daywear look is more relevant today than it’s ever been,” the brand shared. Meaning, you may not see this exact look in Vitale’s debut collection, but the general idea is there.

When Roberts wore the outfit on Friday, some industry folk appeared to be puzzled by the choice of Roberts as the first to wear the new Versace, given that she is an American actor who is beloved for her work on screen but not necessarily known for her fashion capital. The clothes themselves were also puzzling: a navy blazer, a pair of jeans, a striped shirt — a standard, pretty straightforward ensemble. It’s nothing necessarily proprietary to Versace — despite the fact that Versace jeans were huge in the 90s and 2000s. But, hear me out, that may just be the idea: could this be Vitale making the point that Versace does not have to be just bombshells and chainmail, golden Medusas and pink platform shoes? To double down: could it be that Versace does not have to be only supermodels and pop stars, but also for women like Roberts, who is 57?

Roberts, with her iconic films from Notting Hill and Pretty Woman to Erin Brockovich and Stepmom, has, in a way, become the face of the all-American woman. To quote Chaka Khan’s great hit, she is every woman! And that may just be the crux in the simplicity of the look, that a blazer and jeans with a nice shirt is practically every woman’s go-to today — simple, put together, easy, comfortable. It’s a fascinating, tantalising opening statement from Vitale at Versace. Will it pay off? That much remains to be seen.

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