The world's oldest film festival is opening its 83rd edition. That means a few hours in which photographers will shoot women in dresses, and the next day those dresses will be the only thing left of the whole evening. Not the films. The dresses. That is the deal Venice struck with fashion several decades ago, and both sides honour it.

A survey of the most memorable appearances shows something interesting: not one of them is remembered for being expensive. In 2019 Penélope Cruz was named best dressed in a bridal design by Ralph & Russo from the autumn-winter 2018-2019 collection - a Bardot neckline, a draped gauze bodice, feather appliqués and a voluminous skirt. In other words, a dress that looks like a wedding gown, at a festival where nobody is getting married. It works because it is wrong in the right way.

In 2021 Jennifer Lopez had the only appearance on the list that was news in itself - the first joint photo call with Ben Affleck after their reconciliation. She wore a white Georges Hobeika design with small stones and a slit skirt, Jimmy Choo platform sandals and Cartier diamonds. But that is not why everyone remembers the photograph, and the fashion industry knows it perfectly well.

There are also appearances that count for exactly the opposite reason. In 2003 Kate Hudson arrived in a two-piece Chanel Haute Couture design with lace and sheer panels, her heavily pregnant stomach completely uncovered. Twenty-three years later that is still a rare sight on a red carpet. The same year Catherine Zeta-Jones was named best dressed in a draped gown with a brocade skirt and a sapphire ring.

In 2006 Scarlett Johansson went in an entirely different direction - a satin vintage dress with puffed sleeves, a butterfly brooch in her hair and red lipstick. That is what fashion houses like least about an appearance: when everyone is talking about the look and nobody remembers whose it was.

From the Spanish side there are two examples worth noting. In 2023 Eugenia Silva came to the premiere of Poor Things in a pink feather cape with a glossy satin lining by Armani Privé, a spring-summer 2018 design - a five-year-old archive dress, on a red carpet. That same year Nieves Álvarez wore a design she created herself with Atelier Pronovias: ivory satin and silk gauze, with hand-embroidered micro-mirrors and silver ingots. The cutting took 40 hours, the sewing 85. A hundred and twenty-five hours of work for one evening - and that is the figure that says more about fashion than any price.

The rest of the list is a textbook in how a brand attaches itself to a face. Cate Blanchett as Armani's ambassador, in a black velvet gown with a sweetheart neckline and a white feather cape. Keira Knightley as Karl Lagerfeld's muse, in pink Chanel Haute Couture tulle. Gwyneth Paltrow, for years Valentino Garavani's muse, who for exactly that reason surprised in pale pink Prada. Natalie Portman in metallic Gucci with gold sequins, Lady Gaga in Valentino Couture piled with pink feathers, Ana de Armas in coral Louis Vuitton with a nod to Marilyn Monroe.

This is an evening on which nobody watches a film. And that is not a criticism - it is the function. The festival that has existed longest of all knows the picture from the steps travels further than any screening in the auditorium. The only question is whether anyone still pretends otherwise.