Sure, Milla Jovovich is officially Hollywood’s “kick-butt queen”, but she’s also a queen of Y2K fashion, as well. After landing major roles in movies like Dazed and Confused, and walking the runways for Miu Miu and Marc Jacobs, Milla earned her action hero title starring as Leeloo in cult sci-fi film The Fifth Element and Alice in horror franchise Resident Evil.
From the big screen to the red carpet, however, Milla’s still every bit the icon. After her breakout role in Fifth Element, she dominated the Cannes red carpet in a medley of John Galliano looks, including one from AW97 Dior couture outing. Beyond Galliano, Milla’s Y2K style has proven uncannily prescient to the particularities of the era’s current revival: flouncy vintage dresses that, by TikTok standards, would be dubbed mermaidcore, turn-of-the-millennium Prada, slinky Chloé by Stella McCartney, the list goes on. Here, we look back at some of the model-slash-actor’s most iconic outfits from the 90s through Y2K.
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At the Chaplin premiere, 1992
Before VH1 dubbed her the “queen of kick-butt” in 2006, audiences knew Milla as mysterious stoner Michelle in Richard Linklater’s 70s period flick Dazed and Confused. Here, months before the film would premiere in cinemas, Milla wears a very 70s look, likely inspired by her Dazed character.
At Cannes, 1997
In 1997, Milla took to Cannes Film Festival to fête the release of her latest project, Besson-helmed sci-fi epic TheFifth Element. To the film’s photocall, the actress wore an appropriately avant-garde look: this liquid chain-mail gown from John Galliano’s AW97 collection.
At Cannes, 1997
The Fifth Element was famously costumed by Jean Paul Gaultier, from Leeloo’s iconic bandage dress right down to Bruce Willis’ signature orange cami. However, it seems that Milla tapped John Galliano to outfit her Cannes Film Festival debut. After stunning in Galliano’s futuristic mermaid dress, the actress took to the festival’s red carpet in this stunning ensemble, designed by Galliano for Dior’s AW97 couture collection.
At a film premiere, 1999
But Milla’s red carpet looks didn’t begin and end with Galliano. Here, she attends a film premiere wearing an ethereal look from Prada’s SS00 collection.
VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards, 2000
Did you know Milla began her career in modelling rather than acting? She was shot by Herb Ritts for her very first cover in 1988, just before she would make her film debut in Two Moon Junction. Throughout the 90s, in conjunction with acting, Milla walked the runways for era-defining designers including Marc Jacobs, Todd Oldham, and Jean-Paul Gaultier, as well as industry powerhouses like Miu Miu and Fendi. Here, she attends the Vogue/VH1 Fashion Awards wearing a look from one of Y2K’s buzziest brands: Chloé by Stella McCartney.
At a charity garage sale, 2000
Despite being a fashion industry darling, Milla’s wardrobe wasn’t all fresh off the runway. Here she is, off-duty, in peak Y2K casual: cropped blazer, low-rise bootcut jeans, pointy pumps, and, of course, a thin useless scarf.
At P. Diddy’s birthday party, 2004
At the turn-of-the-millennium, Milla became a style icon, namely for her covetable collectionof flouncy (mermaidcore, by today’s nomenclature) dresses. So much so that, in 2003, Milla launched her own fashion label, Jovovich-Hawk. Replete with handkerchief hemlines, sweet florals, pastel lace, and ruffles galore, the line was no doubt inspired by Milla’s own wardrobe. In her own words, however: “It’s for the feral girl scout, […] for a beautiful warrior princess.” Here she is at P. Diddy’s birthday party, wearing one of the mermaid-esque looks that prove she was more than just a sci-fi princess, she was a vision of the future of fashion.
