Dakota Johnson (And Everyone Else) Embraces the Red Carpet Cape

Reported by Vogue.

Dakota Johnson just proved she's ready to layer—and the entire red carpet is following suit. The actor showed up to the Time 100 Gala in a cream Valentino gown that would've been understated on anyone else: barely-there straps, a draped front, diamond-heeled snake shoes playing Medusa. Then came the statement piece: a sequin-feathered neck collar anchoring a floor-length cape that pooled behind her like something out of a Baroque fever dream. It's a departure from her usual playbook, according to Vogue, but it signals something bigger happening in fashion right now.

Capes, pashminas, fringed neck details, and ornate trims are having a legitimate collective moment. Johnson isn't alone in this—Jennifer Lawrence and Kendall Jenner have been leaning into the look, while the Time 100 step-and-repeat became a masterclass in draped excess. Hilary Duff arrived in a diaphanous cream overlay; Kate Hudson's black leather gloves emerged from a built-in shawl. For a gala celebrating its 20th year, the vibe felt intentional: glamorous, nostalgic, undeniably grand.

The paradox of Dakota Johnson

Here's where it gets interesting. Johnson is equally famous for the exact opposite aesthetic. She's a devoted disciple of Alessandro Michele—first at Gucci, now at Valentino—meaning she gravitates toward nostalgic, embellished pieces. But she's also the woman who wore a high-neck, long-sleeve Gucci gown with a completely sheer crystal-scattered bodice. She's worn a metallic leather column dress. She's basically built a career on the tension between extreme minimalism and extreme exposure.

Her day-to-day uniform tells the real story: The Row basics and boyfriend pieces. Simple, quiet, undistracted. As her stylist Kate Young once explained it, "Dakota looks best in super simple dresses, because she's so beautiful, her body's so beautiful. It doesn't require distraction." The cape moment at Time 100 wasn't about distraction either—it was about architecture, movement, and the kind of drama that only works when you're confident enough to wear it.

The takeaway: capes are having their moment because they're the rare accessory that can work for both the maximalist and the minimalist, depending on execution.

Read the original at Vogue.