Amal Clooney has always had a certain affinity for Old Hollywood glamour: glossy brunette waves, the luminous skin, the impossibly elegant red carpet appearances alongside husband George Clooney. There’s something of the great Italian screen sirens in her beauty playbook, and for Friday evening’s fifth edition of The Albies, Clooney and her longtime hairstylist and makeup artist Dimitris Giannetos took that inspiration a little further, looking to Sophia Loren.
The Albies, hosted by the Clooney Foundation for Justice at London’s Natural History Museum, featured an audience including Laura Dern, Brad Pitt, Marisa Abela and Myha’la Herrold, and Donatella Versace, who gathered to celebrate individuals fighting for justice and human rights around the world. For the evening, Clooney wore a custom Gucci gown by Demna, its sculptural, off-the-shoulder silhouette covered in shimmering gold sequins with a cascade of floor-length fringe.
“I worked with Amal and the Gucci team to create Amal’s look,” Giannetos tells Vogue. “Demna’s inspiration was an Old Hollywood movie star, the same vibe as Sophia Loren.” Giannetos, who regularly works with Clooney on everything from her appearances at the Venice Film Festival with George to her travels in Malawi, wanted to bring something a little more relaxed to that classic screen-star glamour.
First came a fairly significant haircut. “I chopped her hair much shorter now, with lots of layers, movement, razored and wispy layers and some summer highlights,” he explains. “So I gave that classic inspiration a modern twist: soft, effortless waves with plenty of texture. Glamorous, but still relaxed.” His shorthand for the finished look? “A combo of Sophia Loren meets Kate Moss.”
The result was a tumble of softly tousled, side-parted waves, with face-framing layers and golden highlights catching the light against the gown. To create the texture, Giannetos used the Tymo CurlPro, followed by plenty of L’Oréal Paris Elvive Big Hair Dry Shampoo and Elnett Hairspray for volume and hold. His assistant, David Mazzotta, also helped create the look.
The makeup, meanwhile, picked up on the golden tones of Demna’s design without competing with them. “For her makeup, I kept everything luminous, with shimmery golden tones to complement her gown,” says Giannetos, who used Charlotte Tilbury for the occasion. The brand marked its fifth year partnering with the Albies, continuing its support of the Clooney Foundation for Justice.
After preparing the skin with Charlotte’s Magic Serum Crystal Elixir and Magic Cream, Giannetos created a glowing base using Airbrush Flawless Foundation, Airbrush Flawless Blur Concealer, and the Hollywood Contour Wand. The Unreal Blush Healthy Glow Stick and Beauty Light Wand brought warmth and radiance to the cheeks, with the Pillow Talk Soulmates Palette in Flawless Pink providing a soft flush.
For the eyes, he combined the Exagger-Eyes Easy Eyeshadow Stick in Oyster Twilight with the Hollywood Flawless Light Tricks Eye Palette, finishing with Exagger-Eyes Volume Mascara. A softly defined nude lip, courtesy of the Lip Cheat Contour Duo in Tan and Hot Lips 2 lipstick in Angel Alessandra, kept the focus on the eyes and the gilded complexion.
Crucial to the finished effect was controlling the shine without losing the luminosity. “I’m obsessed with Charlotte Tilbury’s new translucent powder,” Giannetos says. “It lets me mattify specific areas while keeping that beautiful glow.”
It was a look that articulates the enduring appeal of Old Hollywood glamour without becoming too precious about it—a real Amal Clooney classic. Where an Italian screen siren like Loren might have favored a perfectly coiffed wave, Clooney’s version came with slightly undone lengths, a softer silhouette, and a little more movement. A movie-star moment that still let the light in on the night’s real-life heroes.