When I connect with Florence Pugh over the phone, she’s standing on a rainy London street corner appraising her all-black outfit. “I always love punking anything up with a massive black boot,” she says. “I’m looking down at my feet right now and I’m wearing absolutely whoppingly large, high-platform Valentino pointy boots.”
If there’s one thing we know about Pugh, after all, it’s that she’s not afraid of a bold look. From her litany of sheer, candy-hued red carpet looks to her ongoing experiments with hair dye, the 27-year-old actor’s approach to beauty and fashion is marked by a sense of whimsy—but with a noticeable edge. So it’s no surprise that Pugh quickly fell into lockstep with Valentino’s Pierpaolo Piccioli, who named her the face of the Italian fashion house earlier this year. Though the two first met less than a year ago, “which is nuts,” Pugh adds, they became fast friends. “We had this very quick realization that we loved each other. All the things that I want to stand for were all the things that made him light up,” she says.
In May, Pugh expanded her ambassadorship, becoming the face of Valentino Beauty as well. Pugh, who can just as happily rock jeans and a T-shirt as she can a magenta ballgown, is attracted to the element of choice that comes with Valentino’s makeup—particularly the large variety of colors. “Every personality I want to represent—whether it’s me going out to tea or me being put on a red carpet—there is a color for every occasion,” she says. “All of the colors are amazing, because you can use them to do so many different things. I love playing with makeup with my fingers and seeing what works best.” Her go-to product is the Liquirosso 2-in-1 Lip Blush, in the shade After Club. “When we did the campaign shoot in Rome, they assigned me the Liquirosso color that ended up actually being in every single one of my handbags,” she says. “I’m literally clutching my lipstick right now.”
Pugh’s love of color applies to her hair as well, which she initially buzzed for a role, and then debuted at the 2023 Met Gala. While she loves the low-maintenance style, she jokes that she does worry about the impending awkward phases of the grow-out. “Because they will come!” she warns. But for now, Pugh is enjoying coloring her hair various shades of pink and red with pigmented conditioner. “Whenever I get bored, I just say it will wash out and then I’ll put a new color,” she explains of her DIY approach.
The partnership with Valentino has elevated many of Pugh’s looks into the public consciousness, namely the sheer dresses she’s worn to past shows. Last summer, she made headlines for clapping back at naysayers who criticized her choice to show her breasts underneath her diaphanous dress. For Pugh, sheer clothing simply allows her to feel more, well, her. “Anything sheer is so magical,” she says. “If you feel comfortable, and the clothing allows you to feel comfortable, it’s like a little present that you get to have. As well as the dress being on you, it’s also your body underneath.” Spoken like a true fashion scholar.
