Simone Ashley Brings Back the 2010s Peplum Dress With a Futuristic Twist
Ashley proved that the polarizing style can feel not only modern, but downright futuristic when done correctly.
Trust Simone Ashley to breathe new life into a silhouette once written off as passé. The star arrived at the F1: The Movie premiere this evening in London in a dramatic metallic look that hinged on its flared waistline—a detail that winked at the early 2010s peplum trend, but with a bold, unexpected twist.
Ashley hit the red carpet in a gold sleeveless look from Balmain’s fall 2025 collection, complete with a sculptural, molded bodice and a peplum that jutted out like armor. The piece struck the perfect balance between nostalgia and edge, trading the printed, often ruffled peplums of yesteryear for one that spoke through its fabrication. Ashley’s dress was designed in a 3-D woven technique that mimics the appearance of crocodile skin. Paired with tousled curls, glowing skin, and minimal gold jewelry, Ashley proved that the once-polarizing peplum can feel not only modern, but also downright futuristic when done correctly.
Paired with tousled curls, glowing skin, and barely there gold jewelry, Ashley wisely let the dress do the talking. It was a reminder that even the most maligned trends can have a second act—so long as they’re styled with vision, confidence, and a healthy dose of reinvention.
Ashley, who has a small, non-speaking role in F1, wasn’t the only one with metallics on her mind at the London debut. Ines de Ramon, a jewelry executive and girlfriend of Brad Pitt, lit up the red carpet in a semi-sheer Fendi couture stunner paired with a fringed, nano baguette bag.
Pitt, meanwhile, continued his cool-guy fashion streak in a vintage-inspired suit by the Saville Row tailor Anderson & Sheppard. The F1 star wore a double-breasted coat and tapered dress pants, which he paired with a silk ascot scarf tucked underneath a white Oxford. Aviator glasses—a staple of Pitt’s F1 press style—and leather boat shoes tied everything together.
Between Ashley’s update to the 2010s peplum and Pitt’s take on ’70s tailoring, the F1 premiere doubled as a masterclass in nodding to the past without getting stuck in it. 
