The self-described “small Irish acting person” Nicola Coughlan should update her Instagram bio, because she’s fast becoming a reliably joyful presence on the red carpet as well. The Bridgerton star chose a black dress to pick up the award for Best Newcomer at the Newport Beach Film Festival UK Honors in London on Thursday—but not just any black dress. This was a custom Christopher Kane look that was more fetish than formalwear.
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Coughlan wore the cheekily named Puritan dress from Kane’s autumn/winter 2022 collection, or, as she called it, a “Latex masterpiece.” The ostensibly demure look, with its modest tulle shoulders, ankle-skimming hemline and clerical colour scheme, was subverted by the bombshell fit and wipe-clean fabric. The effect was proof that revealing as much skin as possible is not the only way to do sexy on the red carpet. The star’s stylist Aimée Croysdill added skyscraper Jimmy Choo platforms as a finishing touch.
As Sarah Mower put it in a review of Kane’s autumn/winter 2022 show that referenced his “wicked ways:” “There’s a fine line between sophisticated hinting at something and blatantly putting it out there. Wearers of Christopher Kane have appreciated his skills in that direction for ages.”
This particular wearer also has her priorities in order when it comes to readying herself for the red carpet. “Aimée and I just have so much fun together,” she previously told Vogue. “If I feel good, then everything else is irrelevant.”
This article first appeared on British Vogue.
