Considering Angelina Kendall booked her first British Vogue cover on her 19th birthday, it seems apt that the supermodel-in-the-making should wear a party dress – no, the party dress of the season – for her debut. The Brazilian Kiwi model stops traffic in her London hometown wearing a shocking blue polka-dot chiffon, prom-adjacent gown from Alessandro Michele’s inaugural Valentino collection. The most hotly anticipated collection of the spring/summer 2025 season. The collection that put a pin in quiet luxury and spearheaded the maximalist revival. The collection that prompted murmurs of “the king is back” during Paris Fashion Week. We could go on.
To say that scoring look 53 from an edit called in by every stylist under the sun is a coup is redundant. It had to be that dress for the girl of the moment, who is on the cusp of global stardom, thanks to comparisons to Gisele Bündchen and the backing of runway heavyweights, such as Christy Turlington. “We knew, as we watched the show unfold before us – set against a Miss Havisham-inspired set – that there could only be one look for our January cover,” recalls Global Fashion Network deputy director Laura Ingham of watching Michele’s unrivalled creativity play out again after an agonising career hiatus. “Vivid cobalt blue and chicer than chic, what else to kick start the new season and new year?”
Mikael Jansson
Shot by Mikael Jansson and styled by Ib Kamara, the chameleonic Kendall says she “had no doubt the results would be as great as they are”. The hyper-feminine, ruffle-centric look, accessorised to the hilt (as per the show) with gold Tiffany & Co. jewellery and a cream feather boa, “feels like a perfect representation of celebrating new beginnings in the fashion industry”.
Moreover, for a model who is wise beyond her (19!) years, the nostalgic eveningwear, infused with Michele’s intensive research into Valentino’s romantic house codes, feels particularly apt. “She’s always been an old soul,” Kendall’s grandmother (known to all as Nanny Chizio) tells fashion features director Julia Hobbs, who was invited to trail Angelina during her busiest fashion month to date and found an individual mapping out her image. “I actually think that I have good style, I just don’t have the pieces that express [it yet],” shares Kendall. “My style is building. It’s understated.” This sweetheart-neckline dress is the perfect debutante look for fashion’s latest crush as she paves her own way.
