Florence Pugh’s Venice Return Just Got a Golden-Hour Glow-Up, and the Photos Prove It
Florence Pugh’s history with the Venice Film Festival hasn’t always been the smoothest ride. Her last major appearance there came in 2022, promoting ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ amid a swirl of tabloid speculation and reported tension with director Olivia Wilde, a trip defined more by guarded press strategy than genuine ease.
This year told a very different story. Pugh made her return to the festival’s 83rd edition on September 8, arriving in a sleek navy look from Max Mara, marking her first proper festival appearance since that tense 2022 visit. The timing wasn’t accidental, either, coming just weeks after Max Mara named her the face of the brand’s first-ever fragrance.
Among the standout images capturing her time in Venice this year is a set of candid shots taken by photographer Greg Williams, showing Pugh laughing and playfully twirling a coral silk scarf on a wooden pier at golden hour. The relaxed, sun-drenched setting reflects the overall tone of her trip, a marked contrast to the more guarded energy that defined her last visit to the festival.
Williams, an English photographer and director known as the official photographer for BAFTA, has built an extensive portfolio shooting everything from major film campaigns for ‘Casino Royale’ and ‘Quantum of Solace’ to portraits of stars like Daniel Craig, Robert Downey Jr., and Sean Penn. His candid, cinematic approach to Pugh’s Venice moment fits squarely within that same tradition of capturing stars in genuinely unguarded settings.
Florence Pugh photographed by Greg Williams during the Venice Film Festival. 📷 pic.twitter.com/JjSZ6pJbKX
— Film Crave (@_filmcrave) September 14, 2026
Beyond the Williams shots, Pugh’s Venice return also ties directly into her new Max Mara fragrance campaign, photographed separately by Mario Sorrenti. That campaign draws its inspiration from the brand’s iconic 101801 coat, first designed back in 1981, positioning Pugh as an embodiment of what Max Mara has described as a modern, authentic vision of femininity.
THE SIDE PROFILE AND THE HAIR… oh florence pugh is insane for this pic.twitter.com/4nVxVsKSuS
— Best of Florence Pugh (@bestofpugh) September 8, 2026
Between red carpet duties, casual sightseeing around the canals, and a packed schedule of fashion commitments, Pugh split her time across a noticeably fuller and more relaxed itinerary than her brief, controversy-shadowed stop in 2022. Combined with a major new fashion campaign and a reported producing credit she’s currently juggling, her presence throughout the festival read as an actress firmly in control of her own narrative.
Four years removed from leaving Venice under a cloud of speculation, Pugh’s latest appearance feels like a genuine full-circle moment, trading tension for golden-hour ease. Given how much attention these Greg Williams photos have already generated, it’s clear audiences are just as drawn to this more carefree side of her public presence.
What do you think of Florence Pugh's relaxed return to the Venice Film Festival?
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