Amal Clooney Waited a Year to Re-Wear Her Vintage Gold Gown From McQueen
It would've been a crime to only wear this once.
Amal Clooney knew wearing a vintage McQueen gown once was out of the question. Less than a year after she debuted the rare, nine-year-old score, she pulled it out of storage for the King's Trust 50th Anniversary Celebration on May 11.
A gold gown battle graced the Royal Albert Hall staircase this afternoon. Lily Collins and Amal Clooney arrived in the same red carpet color trend. Collins's Carolina Herrera rendition, for one, walked on the runway months ago. Meanwhile, Clooney sourced her own closet for McQueen's Fall 2007 gown—one with ties to Cameron Diaz and the Salem witch trials, believe it or not.
Amal Clooney attended the King's Trust Celebration in a vintage McQueen gown already in her closet.
The human rights lawyer's cap-sleeve, V-neck dress stole the show next to husband George Clooney's navy blue suit. Rows of sequins arranged in a leaf-like configuration gave its column silhouette a 1920s-inspired undertone. The sculptural strands were sewn as precisely as a mosaic, art-deco ceiling. Yet, the almost-20-year-old gown hailed from Lee Alexander McQueen's "In Memory of Elizabeth Howe" line, which honored the then-creative director's ancestors involved in the Salem witch trials.
A model wore Clooney's gold sequin gown on the McQueen Fall 2007 runway.
Eagle-eye archival admirers will recognize Clooney's McQueen dress as the very same one Cameron Diaz picked for the 2007 Tokyo premiere of Shrek the Third. Even less of a deep cut? Clooney's own styling for the Cartier Impact Awards on May 22, 2025.
Last time, Clooney wore it similarly alongside a voluminous, side-swept blowout and pointy, metallic gold pumps. The same, shade-matched clutch also joined Clooney's circa-2025 photo with Karlie Kloss. What can Clooney say? She knows what works for her.
Six months prior, Sotheby's put the archival style up for auction. It sold for $114,000, despite initially hitting the market in 2010. It's unclear if Clooney forked over the six figures herself, or if she loaned it straight from McQueen's archives. But this was likely easier to track down than the 1957 Balmain red dress she showcased at the 2026 Golden Globes. It's also her youngest archival pull of the year so far.
Re-wearing a piece already in their rotation has become VIPs' favorite way to cause a sartorial stir. After styling the same black Armani Privé gown twice since 2022, Cate Blanchett loaned it to Zendaya as her "something borrowed" for The Drama press tour. Should Clooney feel so inclined, I'm sure Z would accept her vintage McQueen with open arms, too.
