Alexandra Leclerc Turns F1 Paddock into Fashion Runway with Dior Dress

On a weekend built on speed and split‑second decisions, one of the most arresting sights at the Spanish Grand Prix wasn’t on the tarmac at all. It was on the arm of Charles Leclerc.

Alexandra Leclerc turned the paddock in Madrid into a pop‑culture time warp, stepping out in Christian Dior’s iconic newspaper dress, the John Galliano design that first hit the runway in the Fall/Winter 2000 collection and later became a Sex and the City legend.

The dress, immortalized by Sarah Jessica Parker’s Carrie Bradshaw in season 3 of the series and revisited in Sex and the City 2, has long since transcended fashion into television lore. On Friday, Sept. 11, it resurfaced in a very different arena: the sidelines of Formula 1.

Alexandra, 26, pregnant with the couple’s first child and newly married to the Ferrari star as of Feb. 28, wore the vintage mini with the ease of someone who knows exactly what kind of message she’s sending. Cameras followed as she moved through the paddock with her dog Leo, the look sharpened by a coordinating purse, black open‑toe heels and dark sunglasses. No fuss. Just a clean, unapologetic throwback to one of Dior’s most talked‑about creations.

That notoriety wasn’t always flattering. When Galliano first sent the newspaper print down the runway, it formed part of his so‑called Hobo collection, a line CNN has reported was inspired both by displaced people he saw while jogging and by the “Tramp Ball” trend of the 1920s and 30s, when the wealthy dressed as the homeless for opulent parties. The concept drew criticism, then fascination, before pop culture ultimately claimed the dress as its own.

Once Carrie Bradshaw wore it, the conversation changed. Once Jenna Ortega wore it, it jumped generations.

In 2025, Ortega arrived at the Hurry Up Tomorrow premiere in the same headline‑splashed print, dragging the piece from early‑2000s New York fantasy into the current red‑carpet rotation. That appearance underlined what Alexandra’s choice in Madrid hammered home again: this is no museum piece. It’s a living, repeatable statement.

The F1 paddock is fast becoming Alexandra’s preferred runway. With the season beginning to roar into life, her looks have started to form their own narrative around the circuits.

At free practice on Friday, Sept. 4, at Autodromo Nazionale Monza in northern Italy, she leaned into a different kind of drama. A black keyhole cutout dress, dotted with white polka dots and finished with a bow‑tie halter neckline, gave her a classic silhouette with a sharp edge. The styling stayed consistent: her trademark small‑framed black sunglasses and hair scraped back into a tight, sleek bun.

Twenty‑four hours later, she stripped the palette back even further. An all‑black, knee‑length dress with a plunging halter neckline, black kitten heels, tiny black sunglasses. Minimal color, maximum control. Each appearance felt less like an outfit change and more like a deliberate chapter in how to dress a pregnancy without ever stepping out of the high‑fashion lane.

That instinct has already pushed her beyond the paddock. Her eye for going‑viral looks caught the attention of Hailey Bieber, whose beauty brand Rhode named Alexandra its first “muse‑ambassador,” as reported by Vogue. The partnership evolved into a collaborative collection, with Alexandra outlining a beauty philosophy anchored in ease: makeup that looks and feels like skin, not armor.

It’s a philosophy that mirrors her approach trackside. Nothing appears overworked, even when the references are as loaded as a Galliano newspaper dress. She dips into fashion history, pulls out a piece that once sparked controversy, and wears it with the nonchalance of someone strolling to a grid walk rather than into a costume archive.

Formula 1 has always thrived on spectacle. Engines scream, strategies collide, championships tilt on a single pit stop. Now, in the slipstream of Charles Leclerc’s title push, Alexandra is quietly building a different kind of storyline: one where a WAG turns each race weekend into a visual event, where maternity wear can quote Galliano and Carrie Bradshaw without blinking.

If this is how she’s dressing in the opening stages of the season, the question isn’t whether she’ll keep turning heads around the paddock.

It’s how far her influence will travel once the chequered flags stop waving.