Highlights:
- Florence Pugh made a striking return to the Venice Film Festival, appearing at a Max Mara event in a cropped top and dramatic midi skirt after several years away from the festival's red carpet.
- On 18 December, she stars in two of the year's biggest films on the same day, Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part Three, a clash fans have already nicknamed "Dunesday" in a direct nod to 2023's Barbenheimer phenomenon.
- Pugh has said the quiet stretch before the promotional rush was a rare chance to rest, telling one interviewer simply that she'd had time to sleep and go on walks.
Florence Pugh hadn't made a major appearance at the Venice Film Festival since 2022, when she turned up for Don't Worry Darling in a shimmering off-shoulder Valentino gown. This year, she's back, fronting a Max Mara event in a cropped top and midi skirt that did exactly what her past Venice looks have always done: made sure nobody was talking about anyone else's outfit that day. It's also, whether she planned it this way or not, the calm before a genuinely unusual storm.
What did she actually wear?
Two distinct looks, on the same trip. Arriving in the city by water taxi, Pugh opted for a quieter, all-navy Max Mara ensemble, a silky chemise and matching trousers, finished with Max Mara sunglasses, a black Chloé Paddington bag and a gold Bvlgari watch. For the brand's dedicated event, she switched into something considerably bolder: a black cropped turtleneck paired with a Max Mara compact crepe jersey midi skirt, a combination striking enough that it's what most of today's coverage is actually about.
Her makeup added its own smaller talking point. Pugh wore a rosy-brown, almost greige matte lip, a cooler-toned look that echoes some of the most divisive lipstick shades of the mid-2010s, at a moment when cooler tones are reportedly making a comeback in beauty circles.
Why does this Venice return matter?
Because Pugh hasn't exactly been quiet since her last appearance there, she's simply been busy elsewhere. Between 2022 and now, she's featured in Oppenheimer, Dune: Part Two, We Live in Time and Thunderbolts*, while stepping back from the kind of festival-circuit red carpet appearances that once defined her public image. Returning to Venice now, in a look built to be noticed, reads less like a coincidence and more like a deliberate reintroduction ahead of what's coming next.
| Florence Pugh's Venice looks | |
|---|---|
| Water taxi arrival | Navy Max Mara chemise and trousers, Chloé bag, Bvlgari watch |
| Max Mara event | Black cropped turtleneck, Max Mara midi skirt |
| Beauty | Rosy-brown, greige-toned matte lip |
| Last major Venice appearance | 2022, Don't Worry Darling premiere |
What's actually coming next for her career?
A genuinely packed run, and Pugh has been candid about how she's approached it. Spider-Man: Brand New Day, in which Pugh appears alongside Tom Holland and Zendaya, has already crossed $2.4 billion at the global box office since its July release, one of the biggest hits of her career to date. She's set to reprise Yelena Belova, leader of the New Avengers, in Avengers: Doomsday this December, facing off against Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom. On the very same day, 18 December, she also returns as Princess Irulan in Dune: Part Three, now married to Timothée Chalamet's Paul Atreides as his Holy War unfolds.
Fans have already nicknamed the clash "Dunesday," a direct callback to 2023's Barbenheimer, when Barbie and Oppenheimer opened on the same day and turned into a genuine global cultural moment rather than just a box office story. Asked about facing a comparable stretch herself, Pugh kept it simple: "I have had time to sleep and go on walks," she said, describing the rare quiet spell before the promotional tour begins as exactly what she needed heading into it.
Beyond December, Pugh has an East of Eden series dropping on streaming in October, and is attached to lead The Midnight Library, an adaptation of Matt Haig's bestselling novel, currently in pre-production ahead of a shoot expected in early 2027.
What does this all add up to?
A rare kind of calm before an even rarer kind of storm. Pugh's quiet stretch this year, the one that let her rest before Venice, is about to end the moment December arrives, when she'll be the common thread running through two of the biggest films released on the same day since Barbie and Oppenheimer redefined what a release-day clash could mean. Showing up in Venice now, in a look built to be talked about, might just be Pugh getting one last loud moment in before the two biggest weeks of her career do the talking for her instead.
