Look of the Week: Elle Fanning makes the case for slouchy, old-school femininity

By Leah Dolan, CNN

(CNN) — This spring, it’s all about tradwife with a twist. For a recording of the “Mark and Kelly Show” in New York on Wednesday, Elle Fanning wore a girlish iridescent tutu and a buttery yellow polo shirt. From the waist down, she was dressed in her shimmering Sunday best. From the waist up, the look was slouchy and boy-ish — like an off-duty tennis player, or someone’s golf-loving father. The worlds-colliding look was designed by Paris-based brand August Barron, helmed by August Vestbø and Benjamin Barron, who subvert feminine and housewife aesthetics through unexpected layering, silhouettes and cutouts. Or often just by adding big black leather boots.

Fanning is currently promoting the Apple TV show “Margo’s Got Money Troubles,” and so far her outfits for the press tour have largely followed this line: slouchy, nostalgic and at times ironic versions of femininity. For her “Today Show” appearance, Fanning wore the opening look from Rabanne’s Fall-Winter 2026 collection, which was inspired by tea dresses from the 1940s. The pinafore-style dress was in a twee ditsy print and flowed well past her knees, while a leather belt sat happily on her waist without exerting effort to cinch. On Monday, Fanning slipped into an equally vintage-inspired Alberta Ferretti rose-colored satin dress, covered in even more florals, with a built-in neckerchief.

The silhouettes here are billowing and (for once!) aren’t concerned with accentuating, sculpting or smoothing out the body’s curves. It’s the antithesis to a Hervé Léger bandage dress, which once defined modern femininity. Fanning isn’t the only one taking a leaf out of this Betty Crocker-style of dressing, either. This week, Julia Fox became an unexpected adopter of conservative kitsch at the Fashion Trust US Awards, arriving in a frilly satin salmon pink oversized nightgown from rising cult label Ashley Williams. Williams, whose studio is based in London, said for Spring-Summer 2026 she was inspired by the provincial clothes of factory workers, housekeepers and nurses. Fox finished off her pink nightie with a stacked beehive and Twiggy-style ‘60s lashes.

Referencing some bygone version of femininity is very much Fanning’s preferred way to dress. With stylist Samantha McMillen, the fashion for her public appearances often takes cues from the ‘40s, ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s. But she is also reaching for some of the buzziest up-and-coming designers, many of whom aren’t rejecting conservative dress codes but nodding to them, messing around with them and re-interpreting them. Barron and Vestbø’s collections have drawn on a range of visual references, from Lewis Caroll’s “Alice in Wonderland” and old-fashioned doll-houses to “The Age of Curiosity,” a 1963 film starring Mia Farrow. The result is clothing packed with fashion history and a knowing wink.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.