Cate Blanchett proves outfit repeats are her key to looking incredible as she stuns in yet another rewear at the SAG awards

Actress Cate Blanchett recycled a previously-worn Armani dress and stunned on the red carpet at the this year's SAG awards

Cate Blanchett
(Image credit: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin / Contributor)

We’re not used to seeing celebrities repeat outfits but actress Cate Blanchett is turning the practice into a must-follow trend, repeatedly recycling looks throughout her red carpet appearances - and we’re here for it. 

Just a few days after showing off her '80s style white boots and acid-wash jogging bottoms, Cate stunned fans while attending the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) awards in a beautiful Armani Privé dress that she had worn twice before, first at the 2014 Golden Globes and then at the Cannel Film Festival in 2018. 

But the 53-year-old star got creative this time around: according to W, the Armani team actually took the lace from the original outfit and "re-purposed it as an under layer for [the] sequin-covered gown the actress wore" at this weekend's festivities.

Cate Blanchett outfits

(Image credit: Wally Skalij / Contributor and Axelle/Bauer-Griffin / Contributor)

The revamped dress highlighted Cate's figure, complete with natural-looking makeup with pops of pink and a wavy bob that proved simplicity to be the key to any great ensemble.

It was a big night for the actress, who was nominated in the outstanding performance by a female actor in a leading role category for her much talked-about performance in Tár. In the psychological drama, Cate plays Lydia Tár, a famous conductor accused of sexual abuse.

Cate, a fashionista already, has recently made a name for herself in style circles by rewearing old looks. Her SAG Awards appearance was, in fact, not the first one of its kind. 

At the 2023 Berlin International Film Festival earlier this month, Cate stunned in a Givenchy spring 2018 haute couture dress with a beautiful rainbow tier skirt that she first donned in Cannes five years ago. As usual, the celebrity slightly updated the look: instead of the velvet waistband that she initially opted for, Cate wore a big black leather belt on the red carpet with the look this time around.

Cate Blanchett repeat outfits

(Image credit: Laurent KOFFEL / Contributor and TOBIAS SCHWARZ / Contributor)

At the same European festival, Cate was a repeat offender once more, wearing the exact purple lurex velvet Alexandre Vautheir haute couture top that she had sported at the London premiere of Tár just a few weeks before. Whereas she paired the top with black vinyl pants in the U.K., she chose a matching column skirt in Berlin.

There are almost countless more examples: Cate showed up at the 2023 British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs) in the same Maison Margiela couture gown that marked her 2015 Academy Awards appearance (albeit with different jewelry!) and donned the same Alexander McQueen black and electric blue suit at the 2019 screening of her film Where'd You Go, Bernadette and the London Critics' Circle Film Awards earlier this year.

Cate's fashion choices are, obviously, entirely planned, so much so that the actress actually made it a point to exclusively re-wear old outfits when she served as jury president during the 2020 Venice Film Festival. 

Even her stylist Elizabeth Stewart commented on her client's decision a few years ago, writing on Instagram, "It's chic to repeat. In her words, beautiful things can come out of sustainability!"

Thanks for leading by example, Cate!

Anna Rahmanan

Anna Rahmanan is a New York-based writer and editor who covers culture, entertainment, food, fashion and travel news. Anna’s words have appeared on Time Out New York, the Huffington Post, Fortune, Forbes, Us Weekly, Bon Appetit and Brooklyn Magazine, among other outlets.