With a finite number of major designers dressing a finite number of A-list stars, the math was always going to catch up eventually: sooner or later, two celebrities were going to show up in the exact same dress. Sometimes it happens by accident, months or even years apart. Sometimes a star deliberately borrows a legendary piece straight out of fashion history. Either way, it makes for one of red carpet culture’s most enduring games. Here’s a rundown of some of the most talked-about repeat looks — and our honest take on who pulled it off best.
Same Design, Different Stars
The Black Off-Shoulder Dior — Jennifer Lawrence vs. America Ferrera
Jennifer Lawrence first wore this custom Christian Dior gown — a sleek black dress with subtle off-the-shoulder white sleeve detailing — to the EE BAFTA Awards. Almost six years later, America Ferrera stepped out in the identical design at the 2024 Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Our take: Lawrence’s version leaned classic and understated, while Ferrera brought a slightly more confident, grown-into-it energy to the same silhouette — fitting, given the six years and the very different career chapter each woman was in when she wore it.
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The Pink Roksanda — Serena Williams vs. Priyanka Chopra Jonas
Just months apart in early 2023, Serena Williams and Priyanka Chopra Jonas both wore the same asymmetrical bright pink Roksanda gown — Williams at the Creed III premiere, Chopra Jonas at a Citadel fan screening.
Our take: This is about as close to a genuine tie as red carpet comparisons get. Both women have the kind of athletic, statuesque frame the asymmetrical cut was clearly designed for, and neither look reads as a “loss” next to the other — a rare case where the dress just works on everybody.
The Atsuko Kudo Latex Gown — Christina Ricci vs. Chrishell Stause
Christina Ricci wore this skin-tight, plunging Atsuko Kudo latex gown in black at the Critics Choice Awards, paired with a diamond necklace and a bold red lip. Chrishell Stause later wore the same design on her own red carpet outing.
Our take: Latex on a red carpet is already a bold swing, and both women committed to it fully rather than trying to soften the look — which is really the only way this dress works at all.
The Elie Saab Gown — Angelina Jolie, Her Daughter, and Jane Fonda
Angelina Jolie wore this glamorous Elie Saab couture gown to the 2014 Oscars. Seven years later, her teenage daughter Zahara wore the exact same design to the 2021 premiere of The Eternals, standing alongside her mother and siblings. Jane Fonda also stepped out in the same dress, in red, at the Cannes Film Festival premiere of Grace of Monaco.
Our take: A mother-daughter repeat is a genuinely different kind of comparison than two unrelated stars in the same dress — there’s something sweet rather than competitive about it, which makes this one hard to score as a “who wore it better” in the usual sense.
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The Same Physical Dress, Decades Apart
A rarer and arguably more fascinating category: celebrities who don’t just wear the same design, but the literal, physical garment an icon wore first, sometimes decades earlier.
Marilyn Monroe’s Dress — Worn by Kim Kardashian
At the 2022 Met Gala, Kim Kardashian wore the actual skin-tight, sparkling nude dress Marilyn Monroe wore while singing “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” to JFK in 1962 — not a replica, the original historic garment. The choice drew significant criticism from preservationists concerned about the impact of wearing a decades-old museum-grade piece, alongside plenty of fans who saw it as a genuine full-circle pop culture moment.
Our take: This one isn’t really a “who wore it better” comparison at all — it’s more of a cultural experiment. Monroe’s version is inseparable from a specific, singular moment in history; Kardashian’s version was always going to be judged as a statement about fame itself rather than as a simple fashion choice.
Madonna’s Bob Mackie Gown — Worn by Sabrina Carpenter
At the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards, Sabrina Carpenter performed in Bob Mackie’s silver beaded gown, originally designed for Madonna’s 1991 Academy Awards performance of “Sooner or Later” from Dick Tracy.
Our take: Carpenter borrowing directly from Madonna’s archive is a smart piece of pop-star lineage signaling — it’s less about the dress itself and more about which icons a rising star wants to publicly associate herself with.
The Carrie Bradshaw Newspaper Dress — Worn by Jenna Ortega
Jenna Ortega wore the newspaper-print Dior gown from Sex and the City 2 — the exact dress associated with Carrie Bradshaw — to the Hurry Up Tomorrow world premiere in May 2025, decades after the design first appeared on screen.
Our take: Of everyone reviving an archival look recently, Ortega’s choice is the most purely fashion-nerd move on this list — a deep-cut reference built for people who’ll actually recognize it, rather than a mainstream crowd-pleaser.
Why This Keeps Happening
Part of it is simple math — there are only so many major fashion houses producing headline-grabbing couture pieces in any given season, and only so many A-list events to wear them to. But the archival repeats are a different phenomenon entirely: stylists increasingly treat fashion history as a resource to draw from deliberately, using an iconic garment to make a statement about legacy, nostalgia, or where a rising star sees herself fitting into pop culture’s timeline. Either way, “who wore it better” isn’t going anywhere — it’s one of the rare red carpet games where the audience gets to be the judge instead of a stylist or a critic.
FAQ
Yes — with a limited number of major designers producing headline red carpet pieces each season, repeat looks happen regularly, sometimes months apart and sometimes years apart.
Yes — at the 2022 Met Gala, Kim Kardashian wore the actual historic gown Marilyn Monroe wore in 1962, not a replica, sparking debate among fashion preservationists.
Stylists often use historically significant garments deliberately, to draw a connection between a current star and an iconic past moment or to make a broader statement about fashion legacy.
