After a prolonged period out of the public eye, Emma Watson has spent the summer bopping around Europe, showing glimpses of her refined, preppy, feminine sense of style. First, she made her return to Cannes Film Festival in floral lace and ballet flats, and an orange and navy checked dress that hailed from Virginie Viard’s final Chanel collection, resort 2025, toughened up with some brown, cap-toed boots. Next, she made the short journey to Paris, where she kept things more casual in barrel jeans and a more tomboyish, very British barn jacket. A short vacation in Saint Tropez, then, saw the actor embracing the tenets of tomato girl summer and the enduring polka dot trend in a celebrity favorite Réalisation Par dress.
Now, Watson has made an appearance for the final gasp of the 2025 Venice Film Festival. The actor and activist was photographed taking a boat trip from the legendary Hotel Excelsior Venice Lido Resort in a lime green crepe mini-dress by Emilia Wickstead, which she paired with a moon-shaped cream Prada bag, and brown slingback pumps. Watson accessorized simply with Ray-Bans, a gold and green-stoned pendant necklace, and dainty gold and diamond bracelet.
Earlier that day, Watson stepped out in an all-over Gucci logo shift dress, with leather piping and pocket detailing, in the same brown and gold patent slingback heels, and Ray-Ban sunglasses. While such logomania could look outre elsewhere, the simple shift dress kept things feeling elegant and ladylike.
Watson’s commitment to the shift dress is founded: it’s a silhouette that perfectly captures both her ’60s aesthetic and more boho leanings, with its fun, flirty length and easy, flattering shape. A true one-and-done piece, it gives Jane Birkin and Twiggy energy, and more practically, keeps you cool from Croisette to canal boat.
These sightings mark the first time Watson has ever appeared at the Venice Film Festival, and it’s best six years since her last major role, in Little Women. Before that, Watson hadn’t been to Cannes since 2013, then for Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring. Even her last red carpet was back in 2023, when she posed with Malala Yousafzai for We Dare To Dream.