From Margot Robbie to Alia Bhatt, 2025 is the year for the return of retro archival looks

Where runways showcase the best of the season's fashion, stylists and celebrities are revisiting past trends to bring them back to life, making them conversation starters once again. 2025 especially, has proved to be the pinnacle of archival fashion. Through Hollywood and Bollywood celebrities, either with recreations or with vintage ensembles from the archives, these incredible outfits have once more become the centre of attraction on the red carpet, movie premieres and film festivals. From the Ambanis to the who's who of Hollywood, here are some of the momentous scenes on the face of fashion's retro revival in 2025. 

Alia Bhatt made headlines at The Ba****s of Bollywood premiere in Mumbai for her wardrobe choice of the evening. Owing to her role as a global brand ambassador of Gucci, she wore the closing look of Gucci Fall/Winter 1996/97 by Tom Ford— the landmark show where Kate Moss first wore this iconic white jersey dress with G-buckle belt. Styled with the Gucci Bamboo 1947 mini and Tiffany jewels by Rhea Kapoor, Alia Bhatt was the personification of old-world glamour. 

Margot Robbie gave us looks perfect for a real-life Barbie with her promotional looks. Now with the promotions of her film, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, she's proving yet again that she can go big, bold and beautiful indeed. First in a sheer Armani Privé and then in a high-thigh monochrome archival Mugler dress, just casually taking everyone's breaths away. 

This year, Janhvi Kapoor has proven to be a fashionista to be reckoned with in addition to her cinematic prowess. Thanks to her cousin and celebrity stylist, Rhea Kapoor, she has made her way into the fashion space with meticulously curated archival looks. 

At her Cannes debut this year, she wore the epitome of the iconic little black dress, and not just any dress, a Christian Dior 1957 haute couture black slub silk dress. This all-black look was followed by a well-tailored archival black backless gown from Yves Saint Laurent’s Rive Gauche 1975 collection. To add to the dramatic flair, diamond pear-shaped studs from Birdhichand Ghanshyamdas jewellers, a pair of wedged Christian Louboutins and a mini Hermès Kelly completed her look.

In case there wasn't already one of many all-black looks, Janhvi paid homage to Yves Saint Laurent's iconic sculptural period, in an ensemble featuring a saucer hat from YSL Rive Gauche, 1987, and a velvet jacket from 1989. She paired it with a diaphanous silk chiffon skirt inspired by Yves’ poetic era between 1987 and 1991—custom-made by Anamika Khanna—and completed the look with the most exquisite yellow diamonds by Chopard. 

She took this flair to Canada this year too, for the screening of her film, Homebound, at the Toronto International Film Festival, with a Prada Spring 2004 dress. The spring 2004 collection saw Miuccia Prada celebrate the feminine with an interpretation of the saree in a 1950s silhouette. Although not in Prada (thankfully), she cleverly paired the look with a slender heel inspired by the kolhapuri chappal made right here in the motherland by the ever-talented Aparajita Toor.

Not to forget this Indian archival moment before it - Janhvi in a resham sari by Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla, inspired by the colours and motifs of jamavar, paired with an antique jamavar shawl from the stylist’s own collection, adorned with hand-made silk resham tassels. Completing the ensemble, a vintage men’s jamavar jacket from the 1980s, upcycled and embroidered by Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla. Together, these pieces highlight the enduring legacy of Kashmiri textile traditions.

If you can count on Tyla for one thing, it's to get the fashion assignment down to the very basics. Her recent VMAs' appearance in a vintage Chanel dress was no exception. Hailing from the French luxury house's Spring/Summer 1993 runway, originally styled by none other than Claudia Schiffer herself. The beige and black micromini dress left the fashion world in a happier place. Given her striking young flair, the dress was the perfect classic-meets-modern moment. 

This isn't the first time we have seen a young star revisiting the archives to make a head-turning statement. The 2025 Awards season was full of the revival of vintage pieces. From Golden Globes to Oscars, many stars turned to the archives. Think Ariana Grande in Chanel, circa 1986, to Mikey Madison in Giorgio Armani's black and white gown from 1992, retro is so in. Always one to get the freshest runway picks, even Kylie Jenner went back in time to wear something truly glamorous to show her support for her beau, Timothée Chalamet in the low-back Versace Spring/Summer 1999 gown once donned by Elizabeth Hurley. 

Venice Film Festival royalty George and Amal Clooney know how to serve a style statement. At this year's esteemed event, their appearance was no different in scale and influence. Amal, a philanthropist extraordinaire, is also a bit of a fashionista herself. She chose a vintage strapless taffeta fuchsia high-low gown that was equal parts fun and fabulous for the red carpet. A lover of all things vintage, her Cannes look this year was unsurprisingly yet another vintage look too - this time in a black Dior dress designed by John Galliano. 

To name Sonam Kapoor the original Indian style icon wouldn't be wrong. Thanks to Rhea Kapoor (once again) and her own style sensibilities, she has been oscillating between retro and runway fresh looks since time immemorial. Earlier this year, she turned to a soft, lemon-yellow George Stavropoulos chiffon gown from the 1970s for a red carpet event. Subtle in aesthetic but volumes in effect for how elegant vintage fashion can be. 

When it comes to Indian archival looks, we'd need a separate article on Sonam Kapoor alone. But among her most striking recent looks was her Diwali ensemble from 2024. Moments before the passing of the legendary designer Rohit Bal in 2024, Sonam Kapoor was seen in an archival creation from his eponymous label. A friend of the brand, this was a full-circle moment. 

While promoting Superman, Rachel Brosnahan paid tribute to Lois Lane in a John Galliano newspaper-print dress. This was months after Jenna Ortega wore a newspaper Dior dress similar to the one worn by Carrie Bradshaw in Sex And The City while promoting Hurry Up Tomorrow. A similar version of Galliano's newspaper blazer set was worn by Kareena Kapoor while attending a press conference in Jaipur. 

Evidently, vintage has been a dominant theme in 2025 that is going nowhere as celebrities and their stylists are not ready to put down the dress just yet.