The slap of the Adriatic against the polished wood of a water taxi is the unofficial starting gun of the Venice Film Festival, but as Aaron Taylor-Johnson pulled up to the Lido, the sensory contrast was jarring. This wasn’t the usual arrival of a meticulously prepped leading man. Emerging into the salt air was a survivalist—a man with a bushy, unrefined beard and shaggy hair that seemed more suited to a desolate wasteland than the marble halls of the Hotel Excelsior.
There is a physical residue to his current look, a “28 Years Later” hangover that he hasn’t quite shaken. Having just wrapped the grueling back-to-back production of the zombie sequel in late 2025, Aaron stepped onto the boat carrying the grit of the film’s apocalypse. It’s as if the “ghost” of the role is still clinging to him, a kinetic reminder of the vulnerability he felt filming on iPhones in the British mud. Yet, in a masterclass of Armani alchemy, he makes the unrefined look utterly essential.
Clad in a tan denim jacket and a loosely-buttoned white shirt, Aaron navigates his role as a brand ambassador with a chiaroscuro of style. He is the face of Acqua di Giò, a fragrance defined by the harmony of sea and rock, and here he is: the rugged landscape personified, meeting the ocean’s strength in tan suede shoes and a casual cap.
The public curiosity is palpable—a playful tension vibrating through the Lido. Will he shave for the tuxedo? Will the “disheveled diplomat” succumb to the barber’s chair before the Giorgio Armani Cinema Club event?
By the time he hit the Frankenstein premiere in a sharp tuxedo, the beard remained—a defiant, shaggy accessory to his structured tailoring. It’s a testament to the dual life of modern stardom. The most interesting thing about Aaron isn’t the suit; it’s the fact that he can carry the weight of a horror franchise and the grace of a fashion house in the same stride, proving that true elegance doesn’t require a clean shave—it just requires the courage to own the room exactly as you are.