When Nicola Coughlan found out that she’d been cast in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie, it was a childhood dream come true. “I was a huge Barbie fan as a little girl,” the actor tells Vogue ahead of the film’s London premiere. “To even be a tiny part of this movie is incredible.”
Given her love for the Mattel character, the film’s costume designer Jacqueline Durran asked Coughlan for her input on what she’d like to wear for her role as Diplomat Barbie. After mentioning that she had a Sparkle Eyes Barbie—who wears a pink and silver dress and has diamonds for eyes —as a girl, Durran recreated the look for the actor. “I felt like I was a little kid again,” Coughlan says of her look for the film. “It’s a huge Hollywood movie—I never expected [Jacqueline] to ask my opinion on it.”
For Barbie’s London premiere, Coughlan wanted to pay tribute to her costume in the film. “When this [movie] first came about, I was like ‘This is going to be the funnest red carpet’,” the actor explains. “I thought it’d be amazing to reference the look from the movie, so when I spoke to [stylist] Aimee [Croysdill], I said I’d love to wear something silver and inspired by [the Sparkle Eyes Barbie].”
The pair reached out to Wiederhoeft’s founder and creative director Jackson Wiederhoeft—who has also dressed the likes of Rihanna, Lady Gaga and Solange Knowles—after being drawn to his metallic designs. The result? A silver corseted gown, covered all over with Swarovski glass crystals that reference the Barbie’s diamond eyes. “The dress is based on our core ‘wasp’ corset style with embroidery laid over,” Wiederhoeft explains. “I’m excited to have Nicola in a really signature look – corsetry and embroidery are two mainstays of the brand.”
Of course, Coughlan—who stars as Penelope Featherington in Bridgerton*—*is no stranger to a corset, a style she’s increasingly turning to on the red carpet. “I’ve had the privilege of wearing so many incredible costumes on Bridgerton, especially in season three,” she says. “I really got a new appreciation for corsetry and Aimee and I said it would be so nice to start incorporating the corset [on the red carpet]. It’s a little bit of a bridge between Barbie and Bridgerton.”
Made from Tencel, a sustainably-sourced wood-based fibre, the dress’s eco-credentials were a core aspect of Coughlan’s Barbie premiere look, too. “I pitched the idea to Tencel after seeing the film Fashion Reimagined, which follows designer Amy Powney [as she] creates a sustainable collection,” Croysdill says. “She inspired me so much to try and make my processes as sustainable as I can.”
For Coughlan, it just goes to show that sustainable fashion doesn’t have to be boring. “I think people can have a perception of what sustainable fabrics or sustainable clothing looks like,” she says. “Sustainable fashion can mean something amazing.”
As for the actor’s beauty look, Coughlan had her hair dyed by Jason Hogan at Josh Wood Colour to match her character’s red locks in the film, while her doll-like make-up was created by Neil Young using Pat McGrath Labs. “I think since the pandemic you’ve seen people have way more fun on the red carpet; take a lot more risks,” the actor says of the growing trend towards method dressing on the red carpet. “We’re all very excited for tonight.”