The year is 1996 and Gwyneth Paltrow is hard launching her career as one of Hollywood’s fastest-ascending actors. She is starring opposite Ewan McGregor in Douglas McGrath’s Emma and she is—like any aspirant famous person worth their weight in vaginal jade eggs—dating the heartthrob of the time. (Brad Pitt, that is.) She is dressed in a leather jacket, straight-legged jeans, and a V-neck sweater likely purchased from somewhere inexpensive and everyman retailer like J Crew.
Brad Pitt and Gwyneth Paltrow in 1996.Photo: Getty Images
Fast forward almost 20 years and Jennifer Lawrence seems to be revisiting that exact slice of time—bar Paltrow’s beaten-up Converse and well-used tote—styled in a broad-shouldered leather blazer, a cropped knit, Bottega Veneta jeans, and the brand’s Tex Ankle boots. It’s perhaps one of Lawrence’s most successful off-duty moments in recent months: because a) she just looks good, and b) she seems to be moving away from the stoicism and froideur that collects around someone who dresses in full-look The Row—which is a fashion favourite for a reason, of course, but has, at this point, become a little too ubiquitous in the world of celebrity wardrobing and diluted through repetition.
Much has been made of Jennifer Lawrence’s collaboration with stylist Jamie Mizrahi, which has seen the actor develop into a real fashion plate. But this particular look seems to ride on a broader ’90s revival—perhaps due to a resurgent interest in the life and looks of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy—that has been proliferating on the catwalks. See: Gucci, JordanLuca, and Prada’s fall 2024 collections, where the best clothes were the most essential: i.e. nothing more than a charcoal knit, a gauzy slip, a starched white shirt, and perhaps a shrunken waistcoat. The styling showed a put-togetherness that feels accessible—even elemental.