Leighton Meester Serves Aquatic Inspiration in ‘Jellyfish' Dress by Giambattista Valli at ‘The Buccaneers' Season Two Photo Call
Meester turned to the runway for her attire. The 'Gossip Girl' alum wore a look courtesy of Giambattista Valli's spring 2025 ready-to-wear collection. The dress featured a jellyfish-style silhouette, thanks to the construction of the skirt.
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While the fitted bodice of the crisp white dress featured a scoop neckline with floral appliqués adorning the neckline and straps, the skirt featured a minidress hemline with strings of fabric cascading down the skirt to a midi length, reminiscent of jellyfish's slender appendages.
The white, sheer pieces of fabric featured wistful movement and were adorned with leaves, continuing the botanical-inspired look and feel of the frock. Meester opted to wear translucent heels with the look and went minimal with her accessories, keeping the focus on the Giambattista Valli ensemble.
While it wasn't the direct theme or inspiration for Valli's spring 2025 ready-to-wear collection, Meester's dress certainly featured aquatic inspiration — a trend that had been previously seen on the runway throughout 2023's collections.
Mermaidcore saw a major resurgence as part of such designer collections as Bottega Veneta's spring 2023 collection, Versace's spring 2023 collection and Valentino's spring 2023 collection. The mythical, marine-life trend included flowing silhouettes, aquatic colorways and more.
Today, mermaidcore is still featured in capsule collections. Los Angeles-based swimwear and resort-style brand LSpace released their Sea Sirens collection ahead of summer last April, taking cues from the mermaidcore trend of past seasons.
Meester's look made its runway debut as part of Paris Fashion Week in September 2024. 'Lightness with the gravitas of couture history is a way to describe Giambattista Valli's oeuvre,' Booth Moore wrote in WWD's review of the collection. 'And for spring 2025, he wanted to push the signatures he's developed over the years — roses, botanical prints, luxe embroideries, bubble skirts and nods to India — toward the future.
View Gallery
Launch Gallery: Giambattista Valli Spring 2025 Ready-to-Wear Collection
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Choosing to tell a Hawaiian story in Hawaiian is a deliberate act of resistance and cultural restoration. Complaining about that because it's 'inconvenient' for you isn't just lazy — it's participating in the same erasure that tried to kill our language in the first place." View this photo on Instagram Lily hopes that Chief of War will open the door to more TV shows and movies diving into Hawaiian history and mythology, especially in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. "Thus, more opportunities for Kānaka Maoli to tell our stories! More, new, and fresh faces! Maybe an actual TV and film industry here in the islands that's Hawaiian-centered." "E ola ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi! The Hawaiian language shall live!" she concluded. View this photo on Instagram To learn more about Kānaka Maoli culture and issues, be sure to follow Lily on TikTok and Instagram! And you can watch Chief of War on Apple TV+ here.
