Updated: 7 Dec 2025Author:
David Frederickson

Dakota Johnson’s sheer white Chloe lace gown just became the definitive Women in Cinema look

  1. Dakota Johnson lit up the Red Sea International Film Festival 2025 Women in Cinema gala in Jeddah with a sheer white Chloe lace gown that plunged almost to her ribs.
  2. The dress balanced romance and risk with frothy sleeves, tiered lace, a drop waist and a controversial peplum ruffle that divided fans who love drama and those who fear frills.
  3. She styled the gown with white patent Paris Texas heels, a structured Chloe bag and Chopard jewels, letting the lace do most of the shouting while the accessories quietly flexed.
  4. The appearance capped a run of daring Red Sea outfits, including a black Alessandra Rich cutout gown that revived pelvis cutouts and a sleek Khaite little black dress earlier in the week.
  5. For United Kingdom and global fashion watchers, the look cements Dakota as the unofficial queen of boho naked dressing, and gives high street brands a fresh lace obsession to copy by Monday.

The sheer Chloe gown that hijacked Women in Cinema

A boho naked dress built for cameras, not shyness

Dakota arrived at the Women in Cinema gala wearing a semi sheer white lace gown from Chloe’s winter runway, all plunging neckline, frothing sleeves and tiered skirt that floated as she walked. The bodice dipped low into a deep V, meeting a ruffled waistline held together with delicate buttons before spilling into a drop waist mini layer over a transparent floor length skirt that showed off her legs without tipping into costume. :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}

The lace itself did a lot of heavy lifting, arranged in floral panels and scalloped trims that gave the whole thing a doily gone rogue energy in the best possible way. It was the sort of gown that would look precious on a hanger but turned quietly dangerous once attached to someone with Dakota’s talent for staring down a camera.

A controversial little ruffle and a lot of opinions

The most divisive detail sat at the hips, where a ruffled peplum flared out just enough to nod to early two thousands styling without fully repeating its sins. Some viewers declared it a genius way to add shape and movement, while others claimed it looked like a very expensive lace lampshade glued to a very famous torso. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}

Either way it worked, because everyone talking about the ruffle was, by default, talking about Dakota, Chloe and the festival’s Women in Cinema event. In red carpet terms, that is mission accomplished, even if a few traumatised fashion editors had flashbacks to low rise jeans and bubble hems along the way.

Dakota’s long running romance with sheer gowns

From Gucci chainmail to Red Sea lace

This is not Dakota’s first rodeo with transparency, because she has been leaning into sheer dressing for years. Earlier in 2025 she walked the Madame Web premiere carpet in a see through Gucci chainmail gown, then bounced through Zurich and other festivals in layers of gauze, tulle and strategic lining that left very little to the imagination while somehow staying just on the right side of elegant. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}

Her longtime stylist Kate Young has turned this into a calling card, approaching the naked dress trend as a design puzzle rather than a dare. The mission seems to be: how sheer can they go while still looking like an Oscar nominee rather than someone who got lost on the way to an after hours club.

“I really do not care” about whether it is too sexy

The current Red Sea moment lands after Dakota spent the year politely shrugging at people who say her outfits are too revealing. In a recent interview she said she does not worry about “too sexy” accusations, because she has worn some of the most beautiful dresses on earth and will happily keep doing so as long as the cut, colour and fabric feel right on her body. :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}

She also admitted that plenty of gowns never make it out of the fitting room because they simply do not work, which makes the hits feel even more intentional. The Chloe lace dress therefore reads less like a stunt and more like the latest chapter in a very deliberate wardrobe experiment about softness, boldness and who gets to decide where the line sits.

Women in Cinema, Saudi Arabia and a very global spotlight

Using a lace gown to smuggle in serious conversation

The Women in Cinema gala is part of the Red Sea International Film Festival’s push to spotlight female voices in a region where film and culture are rapidly expanding. On stage Dakota spoke about her shift into producing and her plans to move into directing, citing her parents Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith as proof that storytelling is the family business whether she likes it or not. :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}

She has been honest about the emotional and financial stress that comes with independent producing, complaining cheerfully about flaky financiers while still insisting the creative payoff is worth it. The contrast between that grounded frustration and the ethereal Chloe gown is part of why the moment is so compelling, because it shows a woman using fantasy fashion while talking very plainly about the less glamorous side of cinema.

Red Sea as the new sheer dress laboratory

Red Sea has quickly become a testing ground for more adventurous red carpet looks, sitting somewhere between Cannes glamour and awards season warm up. In the same week as Dakota’s Chloe outing, the festival has already hosted everything from Rita Ora’s backless gowns to experimental silhouettes on rising European and Middle Eastern stars, giving stylists a long runway for bold ideas. :contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5}

For Dakota, that means the stakes are high but the environment is friendly to risk, because she is surrounded by other women also pushing the naked dress and cutout trends into new territory. The end result is a festival that doubles as a mood board for how red carpet rules are shifting heading into 2026.

Two festival looks, one confidence message

The black cutout gown that walked so the lace could float

Before the lace, Dakota had already set social feeds buzzing in Jeddah when she stepped out in a black Alessandra Rich gown with a strapless bodice, front slit and very committed pelvis cutouts. The dress revived a trend last seen on the likes of Dua Lipa and Kim Kardashian a few years back, but with slightly more structure and a lot more diamonds around the neckline. :contentReference[oaicite:6]{index=6}

Paired with black Paris Texas heels, Chopard jewellery and her usual soft fringe, the look was unapologetically body focused without abandoning old school Hollywood polish. That outing set up a neat narrative for the festival, with the black cutout moment serving as the sharp, architectural yin to the white boho lace yang that followed.

Day to night dressing as a full personality trait

Coverage from the festival has painted Dakota’s schedule as a series of quick changes between panels, daytime interviews and red carpet appearances. In between the heavy hitters like Alessandra Rich and Chloe, she has been photographed in sleek trench coats, minimal satin pieces and low key day dresses topped with chunky pendants and sculptural heels. :contentReference[oaicite:7]{index=7}

That versatility keeps her from feeling stuck in a single aesthetic, even as the sheer gowns dominate headlines. It also explains why best dressed lists love her, because editors can rely on at least two or three distinct looks from any festival where she is on the guest list.

Why this dress is trending so hard in the United Kingdom

Sheer, but make it grown up

United Kingdom fashion fans have seen plenty of naked dresses over the last decade, from awards season mesh to club ready rhinestone nets. What sets Dakota’s Chloe gown apart is how grown up it feels, swapping obvious body con shapes for volume, movement and lace that looks like it belongs in a period drama until the light hits it. :contentReference[oaicite:8]{index=8}

The plunging neckline and visible legs give the necessary shock factor, but the tiered skirt and romantic sleeves keep everything in the realm of modern couture rather than reality show audition tape. It is the kind of balance that appeals to UK readers who want drama from their red carpets without feeling like they are scrolling an underwear catalogue.

The Red Sea to high street lace pipeline

From a trend point of view, you can already hear buying teams scribbling “sheer lace, tiered, off white” in their notebooks. British high street labels have been flirting with lace and drop waists for a while, but a global moment like this tends to turn a gentle interest into full stockroom commitment. :contentReference[oaicite:9]{index=9}

Expect to see more midi dresses in ivory and cream with crochet style panels, flutter sleeves and strategic lining appearing in spring collections. They will not be as daring as Dakota’s Chloe original, but they will definitely owe a quiet debt to it when they show up in wedding guest guides and summer party edits.

How to steal the look without copy pasting it badly

Lace, layers and a glimpse of leg

The easiest way to nod to this look is to keep the ingredients and tweak the recipe. Think soft white or cream lace with a fitted bodice and a fuller skirt, then choose a lining that stops at the knee so the lower part of the dress feels light without being fully transparent.

If a deep plunge feels terrifying, a V neckline that stops at a normal bra line will give a similar vertical effect without any tape based engineering. Add a subtle ruffle or tier at the hip if you love the Chloe peplum, or ditch it entirely if your relationship with early two thousands styling is still on a break.

Hair, makeup and accessories that know when to shut up

Dakota’s styling works because everything around the dress is intentionally quiet. Her hair is down in loose waves with that familiar fringe, and her makeup stays in the realm of soft glow and pale lip rather than smoky eye and glitter overload. :contentReference[oaicite:10]{index=10}

Accessories follow the same rule, with white heels, a compact leather bag and a few carefully chosen Chopard pieces adding shine without fighting the lace. Anyone trying this at home can follow the same formula with high street jewels and simple sandals, remembering that the dress is the main character and everything else is background actors.

What this moment says about Dakota’s next chapter

Risk taking fashion for a risk taking producer

Dakota’s Red Sea wardrobe runs alongside a career chapter where she is increasingly visible as a producer with TeaTime Pictures, not just an actor in other people’s visions. She has been championing projects that explore messy, evolving women and has not been shy about calling out the stress of getting those stories financed in an industry that still likes safe bets. :contentReference[oaicite:11]{index=11}

The fearless approach to clothes mirrors that attitude, signalling that she would rather be interesting and occasionally divisive than anonymous. A sheer Chloe lace gown at a high profile festival is therefore not just a fashion flex, but a neat visual summary of where she is creatively, open, exposed and absolutely committed to the bit.

Why this Red Sea night will keep turning up in mood boards

As screenshots and clips circulate, the Women in Cinema appearance is already morphing from one night’s outfit into a reference point. Stylists will pull it out when clients ask for something romantic but daring, and fans will quietly save it for future weddings, parties and ambitious summer holiday fantasies. :contentReference[oaicite:12]{index=12}

In a year stuffed with loud celebrity fashion, this look stands out because it feels both ethereal and grounded, dreamy lace wrapped around someone who clearly knows exactly what she is doing. That combination is why Dakota’s Chloe dress is not just trending today, but almost certainly headed for those inevitable “best naked dresses of the decade” lists later on.

References. A list of references and links used

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