Great Outfits in Fashion History: Keira Knightley's Tiered Valentino Gown

From founding designer Valentino Garavani’s final haute couture collection for the house he built.

There are perfectly good celebrity style moments, and then there are the looks that really stick with you, the ones you try desperately to recreate at home. In ‘Great Outfits in Fashion History,’ Fashionista editors are revisiting their all-time favorite lewks.

One thing has remained a constant across all chapters of Valentino‘s history: The Italian fashion house makes a phenomenal gown.

It’s no wonder so many celebrities keep calling upon the brand for big moments — red carpet premieres, award shows, magazine covers. Valentino traffics in garments that inspire, that spark imagination and, perhaps most crucially, that stay with you. That’s true of pretty much every era, whether it’s from founding designer Valentino Garavani‘s time, the Pierpaolo Piccioli/Maria Grazia Chiuri period or Piccioli’s much-lauded solo career. And being a house so rooted in heritage, you’ll recognize traces of the past in its latest collections.

Look at this gown Keira Knightley wore back in 2008, to the Orange British Academy Film Awards — it’s from Garavani’s final haute couture collection for the brand he built, but the airy tiers, the uniform embellishments, the contrast between the fitted strapless bodice and petal-like layers on the skirt are all elements that have come up again and again, reinterpreted and pushed even further by the designers that have succeeded the founder. Plus, it feels timeliness: This look could walk the red carpet in 2022, and automatically rank among the fan favorites of the night.

Shop tiered occasionwear in the gallery below.