Tilda Swinton’s Style Evolution: A Brief History of Her Unique Looks

Tilda Swinton’s androgynous, eclectic style makes her a malleable on-screen presence. Whether a high-powered general counsel in Michael Clayton, a literal witch in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, or a satire of Hollywood gossip columnist Hedda Hopper in Hail, Caesar!, she’s able to fully inhabit a role precisely because she isn’t quite like any of them. Or, maybe, even of this world. Though she’s been described as chameleon-like, even that isn’t quite accurate; Swinton never blends into the background. In Luca Guadagnino’s A Bigger Splash, for example, Swinton remains silent throughout. In Suspiria, she brought chills down our spines with the two mysterious roles she played. And now, a few years later, she can be seen in her next film—Pedro Almodóvar’s The Human Voice, a 30-minute short that happens to be his first English-language venture, and was filmed during Covid-19. Film festivals and red carpets these days are mostly virtual, but looking back on the past few years, the actress has given us which makes us all the more grateful that over the years, she has selected a few louder-than-words looks to accompany her films’ press tours. Swinton’s favorite looks are all accounted for: Recurring appearances by Haider Ackermann, Lanvin, and Chanel accompany a few flashes of Valentino and Vionnet. Here, we’ve rounded up a few of the best from the past year, and a few from beyond.

Tilda Swinton is seen arriving at the Excelsior during the 77th Venice Film Festival in September 2020. Photo by Getty Images.

Tilda Swinton walks the red carpet ahead of the movie The Human Voice and Quo Vadis, Aida? at the 77th Venice Film Festival in September 2020. Photo by Getty Images.

Tilda Swinton is seen arriving at the Excelsior during the 77th Venice Film Festival in September 2020. Photo by Getty Images.

Tilda Swinton arrives at the Excelsior at the 77th Venice Film Festival on September 1, 2020. Photo by Getty Images.

Tilda Swinton helps launch the Art Fund press conference at Slade School of Fine Art, London in January 2020. Photo by Getty Images.

Tilda Swinton attends the tribute to Robert Redford during the 18th Marrakech International Film Festival -Day Eight- on December 06, 2019. Photo by Getty Images.

Tilda Swinton presents Snowpiercer screening at place Jemaa El Fna during the 18th Marrakech International Film Festival -Day Five- on December 03, 2019. Photo by Getty Images.

Tilda Swinton attends the opening ceremony during the 18th Marrakech International Film Festival on November 29, 2019. Photo by Getty Images.

Tilda Swinton speaks on stage during the Karl Lagerfeld Homage at Grand Palais on June 20, 2019 in Paris, France. Photo by Getty Images.

Tilda Swinton attends the opening ceremony and screening of The Dead Don’t Die during the 72nd annual Cannes Film Festival on May 14, 2019. Photo by Getty Images.

Tilda Swinton is seen walking in Soho on May 9, 2019. Photo by Getty Images.

Tilda Swinton arrives for the 2019 Film Independent Spirit Awards held on February 23, 2019 in Santa Monica, California. Photo by Getty Images.

Tilda Swinton and her daughter Honor Swinton-Byrne pose at the The Souvenir photocall during the 69th Berlinale International Film Festival on February 12, 2019. Photo by Getty Images.

Tilda Swinton walks the red carpet ahead of the At Eternity’s Gate screening during the 75th Venice Film Festival at Sala Grande on September 3, 2018. Photo by Getty Images.

Tilda Swinton attends the Suspiria screening during the 75th Venice Film Festival on September 1, 2018. Photo by Getty Images.

Tilda Swinton attends the opening night of Isle of Dogs during the Berlinale Festival in Berlin, Germany, February 2018. Photo by Getty Images.

Tilda Swinton departs from the Okja screening during the 70th annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 19, 2017 in Cannes, France. Photo by Getty Images.

Tilda Swinton arrives at the Los Angeles Premiere of Doctor Strange on October 20, 2016 in Hollywood, California. Photo by Getty Images.

Tilda Swinton attends the Haider Ackermann show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2017 on October 1, 2016 in Paris, France. Photo by Getty Images.

Tilda Swinton in Maison Margiela at a screening of A Bigger Splash in New York, New York, April 2016. Photo by Getty Images.

Tilda Swinton in Vionnet in New York, New York, April 2016. Photo by Getty Images.

Tilda Swinton in Chanel Couture at the premiere of Hail, Caesar! in Berlin, Germany, February 2016. Photo by Getty Images.

Tilda Swinton in Lanvin at the London premiere of A Bigger Splash after party in London, England, October 2015. Photo by Getty Images.

Tilda Swinton in Lanvin at the photocall for A Bigger Splash in Venice, Italy, September 2015. Photo by Getty Images.

Tilda Swinton in Haider Ackerman at the premiere of A Bigger Splash in Venice, Italy, September 2015. Photo by Getty Images.

Tilda Swinton in Schiaparelli at the premiere of Snowpiercer in Los Angeles, California, June 2014. Photo by Getty Images.

Tilda Swinton attends the Sony Pictures Classics’ Only Lovers Left Alive screening at Landmark’s Sunshine Cinema on March 12, 2014 in New York City.

Tilda Swinton in Haider Ackermann at the 51st annual New York Film Festival, October 2013. Photo by Getty Images.

Tilda Swinton in Valentino Couture at a press conference for Snowpiercer in Seoul, South Korea, July 2013. Photo by Getty Images.

Tilda Swinton in Haider Ackermann at the premiere of Only Lovers Left Alive in Cannes, France, May 2013. Photo by Getty Images.

Tilda Swinton arrives at the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton hotel on January 15, 2012. Photo by Getty Images.

Tilda Swinton poses in the press room at the 68th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at The Beverly Hilton hotel on January 16, 2011. Photo by Getty Images.

Tilda Swinton arrives to the 14th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on January 27, 2008. Photo by Getty Images.

Tilda Swinton attends the premiere for the film Paranoid Park at the Palais des Festivals during the 60th International Cannes Film Festival on May 21, 2007. Photo by Getty Images.

Tilda Swinton during the 2005 Cannes Film Festival Broken Flowers dinner. Photo by Getty Images.

Tilda Swinton during the 2004 Cannes Film Festival De Lovely premiere. Photo by Getty Images.

Tilda Swinton at the 2004 Palais Du Festival in Cannes, France. Photo by Getty Images.

Tilda Swinton attends the Young Adam U.S. premiere during the 41st Annual New York Film Festival at Alice Tully Hall October 8, 2003. Photo by Getty Images.