Emily Ratajkowski Reimagines Tom Ford’s Era-Defining Gucci Python Print

Tom Ford’s serpentine Gucci dress is back and better than ever. Last night, Emily Ratajkowski added her name to a long list of It girls (Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Moss, Gisele Bündchen, included) who’ve all had a moment in Tom Ford’s unforgettable python print mini.

Ratajkowski, currently in a press blitz for her new Netflix series, Too Much, slipped into the vintage mini for an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers. True to Ford’s early-aughts aesthetic, the dress oozes with his signature sex appeal—complete with a daring keyhole cut-out and a blue python motif that looks as bold now as it did on the runway 25 years ago. Styled by Danielle Goldberg, Ratajkowski sourced the rare piece through The RealList, the vintage dealer beloved by the celebrity set.

It’s no secret that Ford’s Gucci-era designs are still fashion catnip for the fashion girls even all these years later. But Ratajkowski’s latest outing in the blue python-print mini spotlights what might be one of the most era-defining looks Ford created during his revolutionary tenure at the Italian house.

At the time, the American designer described the collection as “Farrah Fawcett and Blondie, with a touch of Gwyneth Paltrow”—a reference that not only grounded the collection in pop culture but also foreshadowed Paltrow’s own moment in the print. The Shakespeare in Love actor wore a custom, floor-length version of the dress to the 1999 “Rock Style” Met Gala, instantly cementing its place in red carpet history.

Ratajkowski’s version, seemingly the original runway cut that stops just above the knee, is a sharper, flirtier take—and one that made its rounds among the era’s top models.

The original runway dress, seemingly what Ratajkowski wore yesterday, was cut just above the knee. Not long after Paltrow’s Met appearance, the blue snake print slithered its way onto the era’s top models—Moss wore it in a 2000 photoshoot for American Vogue, while Bündchen slipped into a gray iteration for a Harper’s Bazaar editorial the same year.

Yet again, Ratajkowski proved yesterday that Ford’s Gucci just gets better with time.