Rise of the hand-me-down gowns! Young stars are giving A-lister's 90s dresses a new lease of life - but who wore it better?

Nowadays, when a celebrity wants to command attention, wearing a daring new look just doesn't quite cut it. Instead, sporting a famous dress from the past, particularly the '90s and early '00s, is the only real way to stand out. 

It's the latest red carpet trend that young stars like Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney and Maisie Williams are all embracing. 

Most recently, Lili Reinhart wowed in a recreation of Kate Hudson's ethereal yellow dress from How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days.

The Riverdale star, 29, is embarking on a press tour which 'pays homage to the leading ladies of the Golden Age of rom-coms', for her new film The Love Hypothesis.

Posting a carousel of photos on Instagram from her appearance in Brazil on Sunday, Lili posed in the butter-yellow silk gown, adding a reference to the Carly Simon song You're So Vain in the caption.

She quoted the lyric 'you probably think this song is about you' from the classic song Kate's character Andie Anderson sings in the 2003 movie.

Lili's stylist Ib Abdel Nasser has revealed the dress is a 2000s Caché dupe of the original, released soon after the film. The original gown was a custom Carolina Herrera piece made in collaboration with the movie's costume designer, Karen Patch. 

Nasser has teased that the dress is just one of many fashion tributes he and Lili have planned for the press tour, promising to ELLE that the actress 'will be paying homage to the leading ladies of the Golden Age of rom-coms and romance films throughout'.

Lili Reinhart wowed in a recreation of Kate Hudson's ethereal yellow dress from How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days

Posting a carousel of photos on Instagram, Lili posed in the butter-yellow silk gown, adding a reference to the Carly Simon son You're So Vain in the caption

The dress, Lili's stylist Ib Abdel Nasser has revealed is a 2000s Caché dupe of the original dress, released soon after the film (pictured). The original gown was a custom Carolina Herrera piece made in collaboration with the movie's costume designer, Karen Patch

The Gen Z actress isn't the only young Hollywood star to be embracing looks from decades past. 

Last week, Gigi Hadid paid tribute to fashion history as she modelled Elizabeth Hurley's black Versace dress held together with safety pins.

Three decades on, the 31-year-old A-lister wore the well-known attire on the cover of the latest issue of 72 magazine – the fashion publication founded by former British Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful and his sister, Akua.

In a photography spread headlined 'Made in the 90s', Hadid, who wasn't even born when Elizabeth debuted the Versace dress, teamed the precariously-pinned piece with sky-high heels, bedhead locks and heavily-lined eyes.

Back in 1994, Elizabeth managed to borrow the £3,000 Versace number as a total unknown, just hours before her then-boyfriend Hugh Grant's Four Weddings And A Funeral premiere.

Speaking in a Disney+ Vogue documentary in 2024, the model spoke about the risque dress: 'I must have been photographed 800,000 billion times that night. The next day we were on the front page of every newspaper, we were like, "What the hell is this?"

'I remember I was just looking at it thinking, "What?" Then going, "Well it was actually a pretty daring dress wasn't it?".'

And on how she came to wear such a huge designer, she explained: 'I knew I had to have a dress and somebody said "I know someone who's got a PR firm and they might be able to help you."

Maisie Williams has taken inspiration from her onscreen mother Sandra Bullock for her Practical Magic 2 press tour looks

Maisie's custom Ellie Misner gown for the world premiere in London's Leicester Square referenced Sandra’s red carpet look from the premiere of her 1999 movie Forces Of Nature

As Sandra pointed out in her Instagram post, Maisie was also inspired by a lace-timmed floral dress she wore in the original Practical Magic film

'So on the day of we rang and said "Do you have anything" and they said "We've got one dress".  And I was like, "Well alright I'd love to borrow it, if I can get into it".'

The actress and model took the Tube to pick up her dress 'which was handed to me in a little white plastic bag.' She remembered thinking: 'I’d never heard the name Versace before and it looked pretty precarious.'

After a quick test of 'touching my toes and stretching up in it, and nothing moved' she 'galloped down the stairs and that was that'.

Gigi isn't the first to replicate Elizabeth's renowned dress. Maya Jama paid homage to the outfit for the 2024 MTV Europe Music Awards in November that year. 

The Love Island presenter's racy dress boasted cut-outs, held together with giant gold safety pins, like Elizabeth's.

Meanwhile, there's been something spookily familiar about Maisie Williams's press tour looks for Practical Magic 2.

The Game of Thrones star, 29, is part of the 'next generation of Owens sisters' and plays Sandra Bullock's daughter in the sequel to the beloved 1998 movie, and the young actress has been taking style inspiration from her onscreen mother.

Last month, the cast headed to London for the world premiere of their film and during the trip Maisie wowed in a series of looks inspired by Sandra's nineties red carpet style.

Back in 1994, Elizabeth Hurley donned the £3,000 dress as a total unknown, just hours before her then boyfriend Hugh Grant's Four Weddings And A Funeral premiere

Gigi isn't the first to replicate Elizabeth's renowned dress. Maya Jama paid homage to the outfit for the 2024 MTV Europe Music Awards in November that year 

The actress wore the same black off-the-shoulder dress that Sandra wore to the 2006 premiere of her movie Infamous. 

A day earlier, Maisie's custom Ellie Misner gown for the world premiere in Leicester Square referenced Sandra’s red carpet look from the premiere of her 1999 movie Forces Of Nature.

Sandra, who has reflected that she was going through 'a goth period' at the time, wore a boat neck top and silky skirt in the same red hue and cut as Maisie's satin dress.

Maisie teamed her take on the look with a Roger Vivier satin clutch and a dazzling ruby and diamond choker.

Maisie was also inspired by a lace-trimmed floral dress she wore in the original Practical Magic film, donning a similar style from Paul Smith for another day of promo.

Sandra has since paid tribute to Maisie's style choices on Instagram, posting a round up of her London looks and gushing: 'My Antonia girl, you can raid Mama's closet anytime.'

Maisie plays Antonia Owens in the new movie alongside Joey King as her older sister Kylie. Sandra reprises her role as Sally with Nicole Kidman back as Gillian – two sisters from a long line of witches trying to live normal lives despite a family curse. 

Sandra added praise for Maisie's stylist Dino Bonačić who she said 'did a beautiful job bringing all of these looks back to life'. 

The trend this year to embrace famous '90s and early '00s ensembles has really been led by Zendaya (pictured left), who in March paid homage to Sarah Jessica Parker (pictured right) and Whitney Houston 

Cachè's eye-catching mini dress is a replica of a Eugene Alexander gown that Whitney Houston first wore in 1987 for the cover of Life magazine

Dino revealed on his Instagram that he and Maisie talked about drawing from Sandra's looks when they first started working together. 

The stylist gushed: 'I knew I wanted to pay homage to her film mother, who has epitomised the rebellious energy of the 1990s that Maisie oozes with herself.'

However, the trend this year to embrace famous '90s and early '00s ensembles has really been led by Zendaya, who in March paid homage to Sarah Jessica Parker and Whitney Houston.

Attending the 2026 ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Awards, the Spider-Man actress, 30, looked incredible in a vintage one-shouldered Cachè flower dress that had a very familiar feel to it.

Sex And The City fans recognised the dress from the 2008 movie, with Sarah's character Carrie Bradshaw strutting down the streets of Manhattan in the gown for the opening scene. 

The outfit, sourced by costume designer Patricia Field, is one of Carrie's most well-known looks – however, she wasn't the first to wear it. 

Cachè's eye-catching minidress is a replica of a Eugene Alexander gown that Whitney Houston first wore in 1987 for the cover of Life magazine. 

But while the trend appears to be picking up speed this year, with several A-listers embracing the style choice, it's not the first time we've seen a Gen Z star borrow from a famous '00s or '90s wardrobe. 

Sydney Sweeney emulated Angelina Jolie at the 2024 Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Hollywood in March that year 

In a touching nod to Angelina's style prowess, the Euphoria star, 28, replicated Jolie's 76th Annual Academy Awards look from 2004 

Carys Douglas celebrated her 21st birthday in an Emanuel Ungaro slip dress first worn by her mother, actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, at the MTV Awards in 1999 

When it came to attending the Oscars herself in 2023, a then 15-year old Valentina Paloma Pinault did so in a red strapless Isaac Mizrahi gown originally worn by her mother

Sydney Sweeney emulated Angelina Jolie at the 2024 Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Hollywood in March that year. 

In a touching nod to Angelina's style prowess, the Euphoria star, 28, replicated her 76th Annual Academy Awards look from 2004. 

The Old Hollywood Marc Bouwer cream gown cemented Angelina's status as a fashion icon in the early 2000s.

Some 20 years later, Sydney followed Angelina's footsteps and modelled the glamorous plunging halter neckline at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills.

Sydney recreated the bombshell look with the gown, matching shawl and accessories with a similar collection of layered pendant necklaces.

Discussing the latest red carpet trend, Lisa Talbot told the Daily Mail: 'The appeal of 90s fashion is partly down to nostalgia, but for Gen Z it’s also about making those familiar pieces feel completely new again.

'There’s also something very appealing about rewearing fashion from an era when clothes were often less trend-driven and more about having a strong personal style. 

'Gen Z have grown up surrounded by constant newness, so there’s a real desire to step away from buying something new every week and instead rediscover pieces that already have a story.'

But it isn't only young stars breathing new life into well-known gowns. The children of celebrities are also borrowing from their fashionable mothers' enviable closets.

Carys Douglas celebrated her 21st birthday last year in an Emanuel Ungaro slip dress first worn by her mother, actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, at the MTV Awards in 1999.

And when it came to attending the Oscars in 2023, a then 15-year-old Valentina Paloma Pinault did so in a red strapless Isaac Mizrahi gown originally worn by her mother, Salma Hayek, to a less prestigious event.