Welcome to The Close-Up, where the biggest names in entertainment explain the story behind their latest personal style statement.
2025 marks four consecutive trips to the Venice Film Festival for Sadie Sink. Each visit to the city famous for its canals and starry red carpet "feels like you're in a painting," the Tony-nominated actress tells Marie Claire.
In previous years, Sink and her stylist, Molly Dickson, approached the itinerary with an eye for opulence. "Venice is so glamorous. I’ve always leaned into that and opted for gowns or more feminine looks," she says. 2022's premiere of The Whale called for a beaded cut-out Alexander McQueen gown with a skirt covered in feathery lilac tulle. In 2023 and 2024, exclusive parties hosted by Armani came with opulent black dresses: one coated in starry embellishments, the other defined by a striking plunge neckline.
This year, coming off her critically-acclaimed turn in John Proctor Is the Villain on Broadway and gearing up for a rumored turn in the next Spiderman movie, Sink felt it was time for a stylistic gear-shift. "This year I felt more drawn towards Armani’s menswear, and was inspired by a similar look from Cate Blanchett that my stylist had shown me," she says. "I wanted to feel more relaxed, but still added a touch of glamour and femininity with the hair and makeup."
The resulting look for Armani Beauty's annual Venice Film Festival celebration wasn't any less glitzy than her carpet-skimming dresses, thanks to a heavy helping of Bulgari High Jewelry emeralds and diamonds. But it also took a decidedly menswear slant. Sink layered an unbuttoned Armani tuxedo shirt, tucked into a cummerbund and trousers, beneath an oversize black jacket. Hair stylist Halley Brisker set her curls into a deep side part; makeup artist Mary Wiles combined a shimmery smokey eye with glossy nude lips. (The peachy-natural shade comes courtesy of Armani Beauty, of course.) Her final look captured the multitudes of a typical Sadie Sink performance: soft one moment, tough the next, captivating all the time.
Trying on an undone tuxedo for size is a sign of just how much Sink's red carpet style has evolved. Nearly a decade ago, she was attending her first premieres as a Stranger Things cast member in demure, tea-length dresses by the likes of Miu Miu, Hiraeth, and Chanel. "When I was younger, while I was definitely interested in it, I was super shy when it came to fashion and beauty," Sink says. "My main concern back then was not wearing anything too mature makeup- or fashion-wise."
Dramatic eye makeup and a switch from dresses to suits are signs that she's gained confidence to pair with her style instincts. "Now, I feel more comfortable expressing my own taste, and naturally it’s evolved over the years, and I’m able to define it more clearly."
I’d say right now [my style is] relaxed. Not in the sense that I don’t care about what I’m wearing, but just that I’m wearing whatever feels easy.
In the present, Sink has one word to define her current red carpet era: "relaxed." "Not in the sense that I don’t care about what I’m wearing," she clarifies, "but just that I’m wearing whatever feels easy."
She carries high-caliber designers and adventurously constructed pieces with grace. (Scroll back through her past trips to Venice for proof.) Still, she isn't necessarily studying the runways to choose her next look.
"I’m not too concerned about following trends or making a splash," she says. "That could change at any moment, but for now, it’s just super relaxed and fuss-free."
Whichever direction her style evolves next, she'll keep no doubt keep it authentic at her fifth Venice Film Festival.
Photographers Virgile Guinard (BTS) and Davide Frandi (Full Look) | Hair Stylist Halley Brisker | Stylist Molly Dickson | Makeup Artist Mary Wiles
