“Before I was really afraid of things, of pulling up short,” Anne Hathaway says. “I’d rather enjoy whatever it is I do have on, even if I’m not wearing precisely the right thing.” She’s speaking, of course, of the inner paradigm shift that’s driven her style renaissance—make that Anne-aissance—over the past two years.
But let me join the chorus of fashion die-hards: She never misses. Last spring, I got to witness this first hand when I met Hathaway at New York’s Mandarin Oriental, 53 floors above a blossoming Central Park. She wore an oversize purple Valentino suit and, of course, a pair of matching glossy Garavani platform pumps. While Hathaway is a kind of millennial icon, having starred in such quotable classics like The Princess Diaries (2001) and The Devil Wears Prada (2006), she’s quick to credit Gen Z for influencing her more experimental style. “I know this sounds like I’m super-pandering, but I’m really switched on by Gen Z,” she says. “It’s a fun generation when it comes to fashion. They really hit it just right where they have a great time with it, but they define themselves by themselves.”
Sitting across from Hathaway, you’d be forgiven for internally fangirling: That smile! That hair! But on this occasion, it’s all about her porcelain-perfect skin: Today, Shiseido announces Hathaway as the new global ambassador of its Vital Perfection line, which features an array of luxurious creams, lotions, and masks that restore youthful health and vibrancy to the skin. “If you’re lucky to live a really long life, your skin carries with you your personal legacy,” says Hathaway. “If you can treat it with as much love, care, and respect, and nurture it to the best of your abilities, it’s going to pay dividends throughout your life.” She emphasizes that her skin-care philosophy is less about perfection and more about unlocking possibilities.
And who better than the Oscar-winning actor to tout the campaign’s mantra “Potential has no age”? Last fall, as Hathaway entered her 40s, she also embarked on a thrilling new era for her career, with upcoming roles ranging from a 1960s housewife in the twisted thriller Mothers’ Instinct, to a divorced 40-year-old mother dating the lead singer of a boy band in The Idea of You, based on a Harry Styles fan-fiction novel.
