Julia Garner Is Serving ‘Cool and Edgy, But Classic’ at Milan Fashion Week

Julia Garner is seriously jet-lagged. Though her body may be in Milan at Fashion Week—it’s Friday morning on the day of Gucci’s spring 2025 show—the actor, who flew in on the red eye, feels like she’s still on set. “I’ve been doing some night shoots this week, so I’m still in the American time zone,” she tells me while relaxing on the couch of her hotel room.

Exactly one year ago, Garner was announced as one of the three faces of Gucci Guilty Elixir, alongside A$AP Rocky and Elliot Page. It was both the scent (tonka bean, vanilla, wisteria, rose) and the message behind the campaign that drew her in. “The messaging around the campaign is acceptance,” she says. “Which goes hand-in-hand with confidence. The right fragrance makes me feel really confident. It just makes you carry yourself differently when you walk into a party and somebody tells you that you smell amazing.”

Photo: Tommaso Biondo

Photo: Tommaso Biondo

Today, a spritz from that fuchsia bottle right before she heads out to sit front-row at the show is just one part of her glam. Garner has her tried-and-true team with her in Milan: hairstylist Bobby Eliot (who doubles as a DJ for the day, playing reggae artist Jennifer Lara to set a chill mood) and makeup artist Hung Vanngo.

“We’re doing sexy Gucci eyes,” Vanngo tells me. He’s using the Gucci Palette De Beaute Quatuor in Wild Bouquet, which has a shade of Sabato De Sarno’s signature red that Vanngo pops into Garner’s lid to match her monochromatic outfit from cruise 2025. Vanngo also turns to the Glow Powder Gel Highlighter in shades lilac and gold, and a duo of Blush De Beaute blushes in shades Silky Rose and Warm Berry. “It’s a cool and edgy look, but classic,” agrees Garner. “But there’s a subtleness to it.”

With a bit more powder, Garner’s out the door. I ask about her after-party plans—pasta in bed to recover, perhaps?—but she squahes that wallflower scheme in seconds. “If I know there’s going to be a great dance party, doesn’t matter how tired I am, I will go.”

Photo: Tommaso Biondo