Amal Clooney's Golden Highlights At Venice Film Festival Are The Ultimate Fall 2026 Hair Inspo

There's no time like a film festival to shine a spotlight on a stunning hair look — take a leaf from Amal Clooney's book. The human rights lawyer recently turned heads at the 2026 Venice Film Festival, where she was seen sporting a beautiful set of highlights we just can't get enough of. Clooney's golden hour brunette look is the perfect summer-to-fall transitional hair color trend to try in 2026. The warm-toned, almost honey-colored highlights on top of a chocolate brown base are so fall-coded and look gorgeous with her naturally tan complexion. While she did get these highlights a little earlier in the year, her longtime hair colorist and stylist Dimitris Giannetos created this masterful look ahead of it becoming a trend.

Giannetos shared a snap of the look on his Instagram page and explained that he wanted to play with Clooney's color and length for something fresh. He coined her specific sun-kissed look La Panthère highlights, saying on the Instagram caption, "[They're] bold but at the same time look effortless and very elegant." Amal Clooney's gorgeous hair transformation has also proven that she can pull off just about anything — from a side part to a faux bob. As of September 2026, her mane is long and luscious, providing the perfect base for this trendy fall hair color.

In October 2025, Amal Clooney debuted a few things: a shorter chop and a darker brown base hair color. According to Dimitris Giannetos, this was a big deal for Clooney considering she always had extremely long hair. The stylist told Vogue UK at the time, "I cut off between six and eight inches of hair. Amal has never had a haircut like this before." They also decided together that it was time for Clooney to take her usual brown shade to a deeper chocolate, and similar to her latest 2026 look, adding some slightly warmer highlights. Giannetos described the shade of these highlights as toasted almond. 

This look, previous to her style at the 2026 Venice Film Festival, is a little more subtle than the highlights she rocks now. However, it's still the perfect fall hair inspiration. It's timeless and seems low-maintenance enough that you won't need a crazy amount of salon visits. Clooney continues to provide great ideas for looking your best in the fall and we're sure her look will become one of the hairstyles everyone will be asking for in fall 2026.