Stars Whose Style Improved with Age

Diane Keaton's menswear began with her own clothes in Annie Hall (1977), but over the following decades she refined it into a uniform all her own: wide-brimmed hats, high collars, gloves, wide belts and tailored black and white. By her later years every appearance was instantly recognisable, a lesson in editing a look rather than chasing trends.

Iris Apfel spent most of her career as a textile and interior designer, and only became a public style figure when the Metropolitan Museum's Costume Institute exhibited her wardrobe in 2005. Her owl-like glasses, armfuls of bangles and fearless mixing of couture with flea-market finds made her a model, campaign star and documentary subject well into her nineties.

Jeff Goldblum became a men's style favourite in the late 2010s, working with the stylist Andrew T. Vottero on patterned Prada shirts, sharp knitwear, bold glasses and confidently cut trousers. He went on to walk in a Prada menswear show, and his playful, slightly eccentric wardrobe now suits him better than any of his 1980s looks.

Billy Porter had been a Broadway star for decades, but his red-carpet style took off after Pose made him a television name. His Christian Siriano velvet tuxedo gown at the 2019 Oscars announced a new confidence, and the run of spectacular looks that followed made him one of the most watched dressers of the moment.

Jane Fonda has turned her later red-carpet appearances into a statement about consumption. At the 2020 Oscars she re-wore an Elie Saab gown from Cannes 2014 under the red coat she had bought for her climate protests and called her last clothing purchase, and her silver hair and re-worn favourites have made her one of the most purposeful dressers in Hollywood.

Andie MacDowell arrived at Cannes in 2021 with the natural silver curls she had grown out during lockdown, and talked openly about choosing to stop colouring them. Paired with sculptural gowns and sharp tailoring, the look gave her red-carpet style a clarity it never had in her romantic-comedy years.

Brad Pitt spent years in safe dark suits, then loosened up dramatically: a brown linen skirt and boots at the 2022 Berlin premiere of Bullet Train, softly tailored suits in unexpected colours, and relaxed knitwear on press tours. The ease of these later looks feels far more personal than anything from his early red-carpet days.

Michelle Yeoh's awards season for Everything Everywhere All at Once in 2023 became a showcase of decisive glamour, from sculpted couture to the white feathered Dior gown in which she accepted her Oscar. After years of elegant but cautious red carpets, she dressed like someone fully at home in the spotlight.

Helen Mirren has grown more playful on the red carpet over time, wearing bold colour, unexpected hair and gowns that break the rules for what a dame is supposed to wear. Her periwinkle-blue hair at Cannes in 2023 showed a star treating style as fun rather than a duty, and her ease in front of the cameras makes every look feel her own.

Pedro Pascal became a style reference once The Mandalorian and The Last of Us made him a leading man after decades of supporting roles. His appearances since 2023, including red shorts and a black Valentino jacket at that year's Met Gala, mix close-fitting tailoring with open collars and nonchalance, a wardrobe that matches his warm, slightly offbeat public persona.

Colman Domingo's style turned spectacular during the awards campaign for Rustin in 2023 and 2024, with his stylists Wayman Bannerman and Micah McDonald putting him in jewelled capes, floral embroidery and bold colour. He co-chaired the 2025 Met Gala, whose theme celebrated Black tailoring, and is now one of the most adventurous men on any red carpet.

Gillian Anderson has used later red carpets with wit, most memorably at the 2024 Golden Globes in a Gabriela Hearst gown embroidered with vulvas, a nod to her book of women's sexual fantasies, Want. Her mix of sharp tailoring, liquid gowns and knowing humour makes her one of the most interesting dressers of her generation.

Ralph Fiennes's press tour for Conclave in 2024 and 2025 won him a new following for understated style: fine-gauge knitted polos, cardigans, soft tailoring and well-chosen glasses. It was the opposite of red-carpet spectacle, and proof that quiet clothes chosen with care can be as memorable as any statement gown.