This Week, The Best Dressed Stars Stepped Into The Matrix

Call it the Wachowski effect. Just as the visionary work of the filmmaking sisters is experiencing a renaissance thanks to the release of The Matrix Resurrections, celebrities appear to be taking their fashion cues from Neo, Trinity, and the leather-clad characters of the ’90s sci-fi action film. Granted, Hailey Bieber and Kendall Jenner have been referencing the franchise’s slick aesthetic for seasons, but last week actors and entertainers joined them in adopting the look. 

While tabloids were busy elevating Uncut Gems star Julia Fox to it-girl status,  Fox has been busy wearing standout fashions. While enjoying a night out with boyfriend Kanye West and Madonna at retro themed West Hollywood nightspot Delilah, Fox wore a custom crop top from Factory New York with built-in gloves and matching pants with a low-rise waist right out of the early 2000s. As usual, Fox wore the pieces with swagger, adding on one of 2022’s must-have accessories, Balenciaga’s miniature hourglass bag in a glossy black stamped croc material that paired perfectly with all that shiny leather. 

Elsewhere in LA, Jenner and Bieber stepped out in the sci-fi-inspired look they helped popularize, hitting up the party for Fai Khadra’s collaboration with Oliver Peoples on the rooftop of private member’s club Pluto. Bieber went for layers of black leather, her bootcut Attico trousers, long Magda Butrym trench, and vintage Tom Ford for Gucci shirt working seamlessly together. Jenner’s take on leather was irreverent; in another material or color, her mini-skirt, boots, and cardigan would have seemed cutesy, but in all black and worn with the sleekly designed shades from Khadra’s collection, the combination was dominatrix worthy. 

Of course, there’s more than one way to do futurism, and around the globe, stars had fun putting their spin on that concept. Barbarella style boots were trending—Bella Hadid exited Craig’s restaurant in Hollywood in Justine Clenquet mod white patent Edie boots, while Gray Sorrenti stole the show in Milan at Fendi’s Fall 2022 menswear collection in a python version of the look—as was luxury outerwear. Leave it to Rihanna and FKA Twigs to reimagine the humble puffer coat as a topper for transparent dresses and an all-weather showcase for an enduring logo addiction.