Article Summary: Nicola Peltz Beckham took the Rising Star Award at the 25th Kinéo Awards in Venice on Saturday night — in a purple one-shoulder couture gown reported as Balenciaga by Pierpaolo Piccioli, the same designer behind her Valentino wedding dress. Brooklyn Beckham walked the carpet beside her. #NicolaPeltzBeckham #BrooklynBeckham #Balenciaga #PierpaoloPiccioli #KineoAwards #VeniceFilmFestival #RedCarpet #HauteCouture #RunwayMagazine
Nicola Peltz Beckham Stunned in Balenciaga Couture at Venice: Key Style and Cultural Takeaways
Nicola Peltz Beckham arrived at the 25th Kinéo Awards in Venice on Saturday evening in a purple one-shoulder gown, then collected the ceremony’s Rising Star Award. Her husband, Brooklyn Beckham, walked the carpet beside her in a black tuxedo. Within hours, the Nicola Peltz Venice dress had become one of the most searched looks of the festival’s opening week.
Nicola Peltz Beckham received the Rising Star Award at the 25th Kinéo Awards in Venice on Sept. 5, 2026, wearing a purple one-shoulder cutout gown reported as Balenciaga fall 2026 haute couture. The Kinéo jury honored her work in the indie drama “Prima,” in which she stars opposite Faye Dunaway.
Who Designed Nicola Peltz Beckham’s Purple Venice Gown?
Fashion outlets identified the gown as Balenciaga fall 2026 haute couture, designed by creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli. The house has not issued its own credit. Still, the details line up closely with that collection. Piccioli showed it on July 8 in the courtyard of the Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris, and it was the 55th couture collection in Balenciaga’s history.
That show leaned hard into saturated color, hooded drape and sculpted volume. The Nicola Peltz Venice dress carries all three. The neckline falls to one shoulder and pulls into a soft hood at the back. Below the waist, the skirt balloons out. Cutouts break the line at either side of the torso.
A Reunion, Not a Debut
For anyone tracking the actress’s fashion history, the choice reads as a reunion. Piccioli dressed her at the 2021 Met Gala while he was still at Valentino. He then designed her custom Valentino Haute Couture wedding gown for her marriage to Brooklyn Beckham on April 9, 2022, in Palm Beach, Florida.
That gown took roughly a year to build. The process involved two trips to Rome and two American fittings, and stylist Leslie Fremar worked on it alongside the Valentino atelier. Piccioli later left Valentino and took over Balenciaga from Demna. Saturday therefore marked one of the first major red carpet moments linking his longtime client to his new house.
What Are the Kinéo Awards and How Do They Relate to the Venice Film Festival?
The Kinéo Award was founded in 2002 and is conceived and directed by Rosetta Sannelli, president of the Kinéo Cultural Association. Italy’s culture ministry supports the prize through its directorate general for cinema. This year’s edition marked its 25th anniversary.
Winners are chosen through a mix of public voting and a jury of critics and industry professionals. The ceremony took place Saturday at 5 p.m. at Casa del Cinema Giovani on the Venice Lido, followed by a private dinner at Ca’ Sagredo. It runs as a collateral event during the Venice International Film Festival, now in its 83rd edition and staged Sept. 2 to 12. The prize has no direct ties to the festival itself, though it has long held a place on the Lido calendar.
Dunaway opened the 2026 edition with a lifetime achievement award. Other honorees included Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” for best international film, Spanish actor Miguel Ángel Silvestre, Turkish actor Alp Navruz, Mexican actress Oka Giner, Chiara Francini and Sara Lazzaro. Cecilia Miniucchi’s short “Dinner With Dante” took the Diamonds at Cinema award.
What Is Prima, the Film That Won Nicola Peltz Beckham the Rising Star Award?
“Prima” is an independent drama directed by Alessandro and Luca Morelli. Peltz Beckham plays a ballerina, and Dunaway co-stars. The two will appear on screen together for the first time in the film.
Kinéo cited her work as an actress, producer and filmmaker when it announced the honor in August. She previously directed and starred in “Lola,” and her earlier credits include “Bates Motel” and “Transformers: Age of Extinction.”
Visibly nervous at the podium, she called the recognition an immense honor. She praised Dunaway as an inspiration, then thanked her parents and her brothers Diesel and Brad. She also singled out her husband, telling the room that his belief in her was the reason she could reach for the stars at all.
Brooklyn Beckham watched from the audience. The evening arrived during his continuing public estrangement from his parents, David and Victoria Beckham, and his siblings Cruz, Romeo and Harper.
Why the Look Matters for Venice 2026
This year’s Lido carpets have leaned unusually hard on fashion history. Kendall Jenner opened her Venice run in a Giorgio Armani gown from fall 1995, while Amal Clooney countered with current-season Tom Ford by Haider Ackermann. Against that backdrop, a couture gown from a designer with a decade-long personal relationship to the wearer lands as a deliberate statement rather than a booking.
Key Takeaways
- Nicola Peltz Beckham won the Rising Star Award at the 25th Kinéo Awards in Venice on Sept. 5, 2026.
- Her purple one-shoulder gown is reported as Balenciaga fall 2026 haute couture by Pierpaolo Piccioli.
- Piccioli also designed her 2021 Met Gala look and her custom Valentino wedding gown in April 2022.
The Kinéo ceremony closed with that private dinner at Ca’ Sagredo, and “Prima” has yet to announce a release date. For more red carpet coverage, see our celebrity style coverage, and learn more about Runway Magazine.
