Zoe Kravitz at Fifth Annual Academy Museum Gala at Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on October 18, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Buckner/WWD via Getty Images)
Cover As Zoe Kravitz celebrates her birthday on December 1, we chart the looks that cemented her status as fashion's ultimate ‘anti-try-hard’ icon (Photo: Michael Buckner/WWD via Getty Images)
Zoe Kravitz at Fifth Annual Academy Museum Gala at Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on October 18, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Buckner/WWD via Getty Images)

Zoe Kravitz has built a style legacy on precision—these moments show why her approach always lands

As Zoe Kravitz celebrates her birthday on December 1, her style evolution reads like a blueprint for modern cool. While much of Hollywood leans into high-gloss perfection, Kravitz has carved out a more intentional form of edge—one built on an unmistakable aura of nonchalance and an instinctive sense of restraint. From directing her debut film Blink Twice to starring in Caught Stealing, her most stylish moments underline an identity that refuses the expected. With stylist Danielle Goldberg steering her toward archival references and downtown intellectualism, the Saint Laurent muse proves that true style isn’t the product of effort—it’s the product of self-assurance.

In case you missed it: From blokette to office siren: 8 looks from K-pop style icon Taeyeon

Warrior in lace

This black satin mini slip dress with lace trim might have read delicate, but the gold cuff worn on her left arm transformed it into warrior armour. Paired with strappy heels and a thigh-high slit, the look embodied her East Village styling philosophy: vulnerability and strength exist simultaneously.

Ugly-chic power move

At Saint Laurent’s Spring/Summer 2026 show, Zoe Kravitz wore an oversized beige utility jacket with a yellow lace-hemmed midi skirt—proportions that challenged conventional flattery. The mix of heavy utility wear with delicate lingerie details proved she prioritises interesting design over traditional appeal every single time.

Intellectual It-girl

For the book signing of Zoë at Saint Laurent Babylone in Paris, Kravitz wore a sharp black blazer over a satin slip, channelling academic chic. Her soft bangs and the look’s clean lines emphasised her evolution from actress to serious director and creator. This is a working artist’s uniform—purposeful, unfussy, utterly confident.

Don’t miss: What to pack for a trip to Brazil, inspired by Dua Lipa’s São Paulo wardrobe

French bob reveal

October’s Academy Museum Gala marked the debut of Kravitz’s most daring beauty transformation: a chic French bob with side-swept bangs. Paired with a sculptural Saint Laurent rust taffeta gown featuring an open back that showcased her tattoos, the look rejected conventional prettiness in favour of high-fashion risk-taking that delighted the style elite.

’90s archive flex

At the Caught Stealing New York premiere, Kravitz wore a custom recreation of supermodel Yasmeen Ghauri’s iconic 1990 Yves Saint Laurent look—a black crop top with plunging neckline and low-rise draped skirt. The fashion history citation was impeccable, but the real “anti-try-hard” move was the minimal styling and the 14-carat cushion-cut diamond ring worn casually on her thumb.

High-low texture mix

Tatler Asia
Zoe Kravitz (with Hailey Bieber) mixes fur and silk for maximum impact (Photo: @zoeisabellakravitz / Instagram)
Above Zoe Kravitz (with Hailey Bieber) mixes fur and silk for maximum impact (Photo: @zoeisabellakravitz / Instagram)
Zoe Kravitz (with Hailey Bieber) mixes fur and silk for maximum impact (Photo: @zoeisabellakravitz / Instagram)

Captured alongside Hailey Bieber, Kravitz glowed in a grey slip dress with a luxurious fur stole. The candid moment showcased her signature high-low texture mixing—vintage-inspired fur meeting silk intimates. It reinforced that her glamour exists effortlessly, whether red carpet cameras are watching or not.

Architectural nude

Tatler Asia
Zoe Kravitz wears lace as an architectural element rather than shock value (Photo: @zoeisabellakravitz / Instagram)
Above Zoe Kravitz wears lace as an architectural element rather than shock value (Photo: @zoeisabellakravitz / Instagram)
Zoe Kravitz wears lace as an architectural element rather than shock value (Photo: @zoeisabellakravitz / Instagram)

This sheer black floral lace bodysuit proved Zoe Kravitz’s mastery of the naked dress. By choosing long sleeves and a high neckline, she balanced the transparent fabric with strategic modesty, treating nudity as an architectural element rather than shock value. It’s a sophisticated evolution of her signature sultry aesthetic.

Contemporary romance

At the Saint Laurent show in Paris, Kravitz wore a romantic beige ruffle dress with flutter sleeves, cinched with a wide brown buckle belt. The tea-length silhouette could have veered into overly sweet territory, but her styling kept it cool and contemporary, proving she can do romance on her terms.

Topics

Clifford Olanday
Regional Managing Editor, T-Labs, Tatler Asia

After more than a decade in lifestyle media, Clifford has mastered the art of writing seriously about things that are fun—and writing fun things about people who take themselves very seriously. At Tatler Asia, he helped steer its flagship lists, Asia’s Most Influential and Asia’s Most Stylish, and now at the content innovation hub T-Labs, he continues the noble pursuit of lifestyle storytelling, spinning stories on wealth, entertainment, necessary style, Hallyu, Hollywood, beauty and more for audiences across Asia.