Get Ready with Lolly Adefope for The Franchise Premiere.

A film premiere is many things: a reunion, a red carpet event, a chance to see a new story. For actress Lolly Adefope, who celebrated the London Film Festival premiere of HBO’s The Franchise this past weekend, it is a night to “let off steam with the people you worked so hard with.”

Created by Jon Brown, Aramdno Iannucci, and Sam Mendes, the satirical comedy series follows the production team behind a struggling superhero movie franchise, balancing humour with anxiety-inducing truths for a slightly meta commentary on the state of the film industry today. Adefope stars alongside Himesh Patel, Aya Cash, Jessica Hynes, Billy Magnussen, Darren Goldstein, Issac Powell, and Ruaridh Mollica.

As she prepares for the premiere with renowned stylist Jessica Skeete Cross, Lolly takes Wonderland along for the ride. Throughout the process, we hear from them both about their collaborative process and what makes for a successful red carpet look.

Hey Lolly! How are you feeling about the premiere? 
I’m excited! Really excited to see it in front of a UK audience and on a huge screen, and to celebrate what we made — I’m so proud to be a part of it.

Generally, what are your favourite parts of such events?
Reuniting with the cast and crew – it’s so fun to get to let off steam with the people you worked so hard with, and to all be in the same place at once again.

Congratulations on The Franchise! What initially drew you to this project?
Armando Iannucci is one of my ultimate comedy heroes – The Armando Iannucci Shows is one of my biggest inspirations. And I was excited by the prospect of working with Jon Brown again – we worked together on Loaded in 2017 and I think he’s one of the best writers around. It’s also such a unique concept, and one I haven’t seen before, which is always attractive.

Do you have any favourite memories from filming?
We filmed one episode in Scotland during a week of uncharacteristically stunning weather, which felt like a bit of a dream. A spontaneous cast night out where we all ended up in Freedom in Soho was a highlight as well.

When did you first work with Jessica Skeete Cross on styling and what is your collaborative process like?
We’ve just started working together – she is incredible. I feel like she totally understands my style but has so much expertise in what really brings a look together and makes it stand out. We talk a lot about the brands we’re excited by, and the fittings are so fun and collaborative – switching things up and reworking things to get them perfect and land on a look we both love. 

Describe this look in three words?
Fun, fancy, chic.

Jessica, what is your typical process when working on a premiere look?
It all begins with personal style. A red carpet look is just a more accentuated version of that. That’s when I think stylists and talent really nail red carpet looks. When you can see the look feels authentic to that person but it might be exaggerating different elements of their personal style. Then I look at context – which city are we in? What project are we working on?  I like looks to make sense contextually but more of a gentle nod to as opposed to it feeling too kitsch. That’s why we wanted to work with a British brand for the main basis of this look. 

Tell us about this look for Lolly! What were your initial ideas and how did the final look come to be?
Lolly is wearing a green ruffle silk cape and skirt from British brand Cawley, fluffy yellow shoes from Bimba Y Lola, pearl earrings from Completedworks and pearl bag from Simone Rocha. As soon as we put this look on in the fitting we knew it had to be for the London Premiere. There’s an effortless beauty to this look. It feels regal but still has some playfulness to it. Red carpets are formal affairs so it’s nice to have a bit of fun when dressing here. I love mixing colours and textures in an unexpected way, so adding the fluffy and pearl elements ties the look together but perhaps in the way you weren’t expecting. 

Which designers have you pulled from and what about them do you feel resonates with Lolly or The Franchise?
We have pulled some archive Simone Rocha looks, Issey Miyake, Rejina Pyo and this particular look is from British brand Cawley. It is made to order and handcrafted so it looks and feels really special. Lolly has a joyfulness in the way she dresses that really resonates with me. I think we should all wear clothes that make you happy and here it was nice to bring out this playfulness whilst also being super elegant.

The Franchise is on Sky Comedy and Now on 21st October.