Venice Film Festival: Luxury Rolls Out The Red Carpet

In recent years, Alberto Barbera, artistic director of the Mostra Cinema since 2011, has achieved the remarkable feat of positioning the world's oldest film festival at the forefront of cinema events. Each year, the Mostra sees more stars walk its red carpet. As a corollary to this success and the glamour that ignites the lagoon with each edition, luxury brands are working hard to dress the biggest names. At the forefront of these strategic partnerships is jeweller Cartier, official partner of the Venice International Film Festival since 2021.

For the past five years, the Richemont group's flagship brand has continued to strengthen its presence in the heart of the City of the Doges and its commitment to the festival. This 82nd edition is no exception, as the brand will once again present the Cartier Glory to the Filmmaker award. This year, it will be awarded to American filmmaker Julian Schnabel. But that's not all, as the company will also sponsor four Master Classes given by cinema personalities to an ever-growing audience.

The jeweller has been the subject of viral excitement for the past two days, but this was something Cartier had not anticipated: the announcement of Taylor Swift's engagement to Travis Kelce on Instagram earlier this week. In the official photos, the American star can be seen wearing a vintage watch from the brand (the extremely rare Santos Demoiselle, now out of production). Although unrelated to the Venice Film Festival, the luxury brand is seeing its popularity soar on social media, just as glamour reaches its peak in Venice.

For major brands, as for celebrities, Venice is a privileged showcase where every piece of jewellery and every outfit is scrutinised in detail. At the grand premiere, Emanuela Fanelli, mistress of ceremonies at the Mostra Cinema, chose an Armani Privé dress embellished with sequins and a Cartier necklace. The iconic Tilda Swinton appeared in a very graphic black and white outfit from Chanel; Chinese actress Zhao Tao opted for a flowing mauve dress from Prada; Cate Blanchett graced the red carpet in a mermaid dress from the Armani Privé collection; Anna Ferzetti, star of Sorrentino's film, wore an Alberta Ferretti dress, while her husband, Italian actor Pierfrancesco Favino, wore a suit by Ermenegildo Zegna.

For the Mostra as a whole, the benefits for the city of Venice are substantial, as the event generates an average of €20 to €25 million.