Sydney Sweeney will soon play one of Hollywood’s most famous blondes, Kim Novak, in the upcoming film, Scandalous—but before the project begins production this summer, Sweeney used tonight’s Met Gala to pay homage to the late actor. If you’re wondering what it has to do with tonight’s theme? Well, it doesn’t. But it does pay homage to her Euphoria co-star Colman Domingo, one of tonight’s co-hosts, in a special way.
Sweeney, one of the early arrivals to tonight’s red carpet, slipped into a beaded and fringed look from Miu Miu that was inspired by an outfit Novak wore in the 1968 film, The Legend of Lylah Clare. The actor’s floor-length dress featured a fitted silhouette, a key-hole cut-out at the bust, and retro-style cap sleeves. The piece was decorated in head-to-toe sequins with fringe detailing and a metallic clasp at the top. Sweeney opted for a gelled hairdo and her signature glam makeup.
Novak, known for her role in Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo, slipped on the original version of Sweeney’s dress during the 1968 Robert Aldrich movie, The Legend of Lylah Clare. Joan Crawford actually once wore the dress, too. She debuted it three decades prior when she appeared in The Bride Wore Red, a 1937 film by Dorothy Arzner. (Yes, the dress was originally a scarlet hue.)
Sweeney’s reference was all the more special given that the Scandalous film will mark Domingo’s directorial debut. It tells the story of the short-lived affair between Novak (Sweeney) and musician and Rat Pack member Sammy Davis Jr. (David Jonsson)—the couple’s romance, which took place at the height of the Jim Crow era, was marked by tumult.