The Versace “jungle” dress, once worn by Jennifer Lopez at the Grammys, is perhaps one of the most famous gowns in the history of awards shows. That’s why jaws surely dropped when supermodel Amber Valletta showed up wearing the iconic design while attending the 2025 CFDA Awards on Monday, November 3.
GettyAmber appeared at the event to present Donatella Versace with the Positive Change Award, an accolade meant to “[honor] the Italian designer for her LGBTQ+ advocacy work and ongoing support of young talent,” according to Vogue.
Getty“Naturally, Valletta — a longtime Versace muse — was bound to wear one of Donatella’s looks on the red carpet,” Vogue noted. “But given that this is a fashion event, Valletta did not choose just any ol’ gown. Instead, she revived one of Versace’s most iconic designs ever.”
GettyThey added, “Yes, we are talking about the sexy, low-plunging, jungle-print sheer gown that Jennifer Lopez wore to the 2000 Grammys.”
Amber Wore the Dress First
Jennifer Lopez may have made the green jungle dress more than a little famous; however, it was actually Amber who introduced the design to the world.
“[W]hile it may be easy to dub it the J.Lo dress, here is a fun fact: Back in the spring 2000 fashion season, when the dress first appeared on the catwalk, Valletta opened the show and wore a short version of the style on the runway; so you could say the model actually wore it before J.Lo.,” Vogue explained.
They added, “Her appearance at the 2025 CFDA Awards tonight served as an extremely-chic reminder that she did it first!”
The Versace Jungle Dress Sparked Google Images
“Did you know that Jennifer Lopez is responsible for Google Images?” The Cut asked in September 2019. It’s true, back in 2000, “she made fashion (and tech) history when she wore Versace’s impossibly deep-V ‘jungle’ dress to the Grammy Awards.”
So many people hopped onto the internet to find images of JLo in the dress, “that [former CEO of Google] Eric Schmidt decided there should be a way to look for images, not just links, and thus Google Images was born.”
The Cut also pointed out that Jennifer showed up “at Versace’s spring/summer 2020 show in Milan,” and “appeared wearing a similar green dress, looking like she had the power to make time stand still for 19 years.”
We’d say that Amber did the same thing and have to note that both ladies slay this particular dress.
