FASHION

Keira Knightley Disregards Taboo, Wears White After Labor Day

Is that even a rule in Venice?

by Katherine Cusumano

Well, we made it. At risk of jinxing the recent crisp mid-70s weather, it’s finally starting to feel like fall. It’s the weather we’d expect for the days after Labor Day, when it’s tacitly (or not-so-tacitly) agreed that no one will wear white any longer, even when it’s become a meme; when city denizens return to their native all-black metropolitan uniform. Or at least — most of them. Unless you’re (gasp) Keira Knightley, in which case you can apparently wear white whenever you want as if the rules just don’t apply. We suppose when Karl himself is dressing you, the rules really don’t apply. The rules are silly anyways, especially when you have a closet full of Chanel at your disposal, which it seems Knightley, the newly minted face of Chanel Fine Jewelry, does in fact possess. And is no-white-after-Labor-Day even a rule in Venice? We’re not quite sure.

Keira Knightley in Chanel at the Culture Chanel opening in Venice, Italy.

Getty Images for CHANEL

Who: Keira Knightley.

When: Thursday, September 15.

Where: The opening of the Culture Chanel exhibition ‘The Woman Who Reads,’ an exploration of Coco Chanel’s extensive library, in Venice, Italy.

What: A gauzy white tea-length dress by Chanel with puffy capped shoulders, crystal embellishments, and a bow detail with a gold quilted Chanel clutch and metallic square-toed pumps.

Why: Knightley stole the show at the opening of the new Culture Chanel exhibition ‘La femme qui lit’ (‘The Woman Who Reads’), a new show highlighting Chanel founder and designer Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel’s relationships to literature. It’s the latest in a series of exhibits focusing on the history of the storied fashion house now helmed by Karl Lagerfeld, and It girls like Caroline De Maigret and curator Jean-Louis Froment also turned out for the occasion. But the highlight was definitely Knightley’s ethereal Chanel ensemble, which showed off the romanticism of early Chanel combined with the contemporary charm of Lagerfeld’s designs. Cute English roses can have a free pass on wearing white after Labor Day. It’s fine.

See W’s most popular videos: