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Before stylists and designers moulded actresses into red carpet advertisements for luxury labels, Diane Keaton cultivated an individual approach to androgynous dressing that resonated with women around the world.
Quirky combinations of baggy trousers, waistcoats, ties and hats from the star who has died at the age of 79, eschewed the traditional glamour of taffeta, silk and lace, projecting the image of a woman who wasn’t waiting for men to open doors for her.
It was a timely update of silver screen stars’ Marlene Dietrich’s tuxedos and Katharine Hepburn’s turtlenecks and wide-legged trousers.
Diane Keaton in Ralph Lauren attire on set with director Woody Allen during the filming of Annie Hall.Credit: Getty Images
Designer Ralph Lauren is often credited with launching Keaton as a fashion icon in the 1977 Woody Allen movie Annie Hall, but the Oscar-winning actress was responsible for her character’s eclectic output.
“Annie’s style was Diane’s style — very eclectic,” Lauren says is in Vogue on Ralph Lauren. “Oversized jackets and vests, floppy men’s hats and cowboy boots. We shared a sensibility, but she had a style that was all her own. Annie Hall was pure Diane Keaton.”
Allen defended Keaton’s sartorial choices when Ruth Morley, costume designer for Annie Hall, challenged certain costume combinations. The controversial director, who dated Keaton in the early ’70s, admired the actress’s style when they met while working on his Broadway production of Play It Again, Sam, which went on to become a movie.
Diane Keaton on the red carpet at the Academy Awards in 2004 wearing Ralph Lauren.Credit: WireImage
“She’d come in every day with an absolutely spectacularly imaginative combination of clothes. They were just great,” Allen told Rolling Stone in 1977. “She was the type that would come in with, you know, a football jersey and a skirt … and combat boots and, you know… you know, oven mittens.”
Keaton said that her personal style journey began with the encouragement of her mother, amateur photographer Dorothy Keaton, who would take her to secondhand stores.
“She took me to Goodwill and let me express myself,” Keaton told People. “She was my biggest supporter and manifester of my creativity.”
Keaton’s look evolved, with ties often substituted with scarves or trousers swapped out for voluminous maxi-skirts.
During a 2020 retrospective of her favourite looks on Instagram, Keaton shared a photograph of her wearing a checked suit by leading US designer Thom Browne. “I decided to put a skirt over [the pants] because I’m insane,” she said.
Diane Keaton at the haute couture show for US designer Thom Browne at Paris Fashion Week in 2023.Credit: Getty Images
Diane Keaton wearing a baggy suit at the 1992 premiere of A Mom’s Life.Credit: Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
Layering was toned down for Keaton’s appearance in Nancy Meyers 2003 romantic comedy Something’s Gotta Give, opposite Jack Nicholson. Even stripped back to the bones of her aesthetic, the actress launched another global trend.
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Nearly 20 years after the movie’s release the TikTok generation unearthed clips of Keaton in the movie, kick-starting the Coastal Grandma trend in 2022.
While promoting an eyewear collaboration with Look Optic last year, Keaton revealed her formula for dressing to People: “a turtleneck, suit, large belt and of course a hat and glasses!”
“Some things will never change for me,” she said.
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