At the 50th Chaplin Award Gala, Dua Lipa turned heads in a sculptural Schiaparelli mesh dress—reviving chocolate brown with an unapologetically glamorous edge.
There’s something irresistibly audacious about the way Dua Lipa reinvents red carpet fashion—and at this year’s 50th Chaplin Award Gala in New York City, she did it again. Against the dramatic backdrop of Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, the pop provocateur gave the year’s most unexpected color trend, chocolate brown, a fresh party-girl twist worthy of fashion archives.
The evening was a convergence of cinematic grandeur and high fashion, and Lipa’s look effortlessly bridged both worlds. Draped in a chocolate-brown mesh gown from Daniel Roseberry’s Fall/Winter 2025 Schiaparelli collection, the British-Albanian singer radiated bold elegance. The dress—a semisheer maxi silhouette featuring long sleeves that flared at the wrists and a deeply plunging neckline adorned with gold-buttoned oval cutouts—offered a delicate balance between risqué and refined. Her belly-button ring cheekily peeked through one of the midriff openings, further underscoring her playful ownership of the look.
If the gown was a lesson in modern sensuality, the accessories were a masterclass in surrealist opulence. Lipa paired the dress with an architectural choker-style necklace, complete with a deconstructed golden face that cascaded down to her bust, layered with white teardrop pearls and crystals—signature Schiaparelli symbols reimagined for a new generation of fashion rebels. The oversized earrings, each a pair of gold lips dripping pearls, added whimsical drama, showing that no detail was spared in crafting her standout moment.
Styled by long-time collaborator Lorenzo Posocco, Lipa finished the look with black Mary Jane heels and a black Schiaparelli clutch flecked with metallic gold. This wasn’t just an outfit—it was art in motion, a curated collision of couture, celebrity, and avant-garde spirit.
Her presence at the gala wasn’t just about style. Lipa was there to honor legendary filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar, whose boundary-pushing work mirrors her own artistic ethos. It’s a fitting tribute, considering the star’s ever-evolving persona continues to blur lines between pop stardom and cultural iconography.
With celebrities like Bella Hadid, Sydney Sweeney, Zoe Saldaña, and Jennifer Lopez already embracing the color in dramatically different forms, Lipa’s look firmly cements chocolate brown as 2025’s luxury lifestyle power shade. But what sets her apart is the way she redefines “luxury”—not just as opulence, but as originality, confidence, and fashion-forward storytelling.
As fashion trends become increasingly homogenized, Lipa remains one of the few mainstream stars who can transform a red carpet into a cultural moment. This wasn’t just a style choice—it was a statement. One that says: the modern party girl doesn’t follow trends. She sets them.
