Selena Gomez's Velvet Schiaparelli Gown Cracks a Joke Just for Fashion Girls

Selena Gomez has worn what feels like every permutation of a little black dress while promoting her film Emilia Pérez, from Saint Laurent gowns at Cannes to satin blazer minis in New York City. For a London photocall on Oct. 10, she was still on a her LBD agenda in a velvet Schiaparelli gown—but this one included an inside joke just for fashion girls.

Gomez's column gown, styled by Erin Walsh, features a cut-out at the bodice that doubles as a style pun. Circular windows to the sternum are typically called a "keyhole" cut-out. The Schiaparelli dress's opening is in the shape of an actual Victorian keyhole. According to the designer's site, it's made from hammered brass. So, it could easily go from Gomez's dress to the threshold of a townhouse just steps away from her in London.

Under creative director Daniel Roseberry, Schiaparelli recently has gotten back to its surrealist-glam roots. Highlights from his latest collections include sandals with brass trompe-l'œil toes and bags with abstract faces that would make Picasso jealous. (Roseberry is also the mind behind Kylie Jenner's viral lion-head dress and Taylor Swift's white gown for the 2024 Grammys.) The designs are intelligent and a little cheeky—like, say, a gown that makes a pun with its construction. In its original runway collection, the "key-hole" dress was styled with a velvet headwrap and stacks of gold bangles. Gomez paired her gown with a simple, middle-parted blow-out and a fresh white manicure, plus a few gold rings along her fingers and a $48 pair of BaubleBar earrings.

Her latest dress may be more whimsical, but its classic column shape and rich black velvet are consistent with Gomez's months-long LBD streak. As if to tell the world she's officially a grown-up star (and a billionaire), Selena Gomez has exclusively worn black dresses for her red carpets and big appearances. Even when she's dressing more casually, she's stayed true to a black-and-white palette—like when she wore white jeans, a Khaite bodysuit, and Khaite's viral studded belt this week.

There's no punch line—she just looks chic.