It’s safe to say it’s been Nicola Coughlan’s year.
The actress became a leading lady as she took the helm of the third season of Netflix’s Bridgerton, which followed her character Penelope Featherington and her blossoming romance with Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton). Coughlan’s performance was met with universal praise; so it’s little wonder the 37-year-old took home the prize for Television Actress of the Year at Harper Bazaar’s 2024 Women of the Year Awards.
As well as being a tremendous performer, Coughlan has established herself as a one of the most stylish people in showbiz, with the star being her usual, impeccably dressed self at our glamorous awards ceremony. For the event, held in the prestigious ballroom at Claridge’s, the actress opted for a black outfit by Dior, paired with a classic red lip.
We caught up with Coughlan as she got ready ahead of the awards, where she talked us through her style evolution, her favourite off-duty outfits, and how she manages to overcome red-carpet nerves.
Talk us through your look for this evening. Why does it feel like a good fit for you?
“It’s a really beautiful Dior suit with a skirt. I love nice tailoring, and I feel Dior does such beautiful tailoring for women. Dior have the great style of a French fashion house, but their looks still leave room to be fun, modern and wearable. I’m accessorising with a veil, just to elevate the look.”
How does Dior fit your style?
“I actually only wore Dior for the first time during the Bridgerton world tour, and it was this really classically cut black dress. I loved it so much. It’s funny, because people often feel a lot of different ways about what I wear. But with that Dior dress, everyone adored it – and I adored it. Dior also designed such a beautiful dress for the Time 100 Gala in New York, and that felt like that was another big moment for me. So when I was considering what to wear, we just thought, why not go for Dior again? It’s been such a winning combo.”
How involved are you in the styling process?
“It’s a very collaborative process between myself and Aimée [Croysdill, Coughlan’s stylist], and we’re constantly sending ideas back and forth. My ideas are often very literal – it might literally be a character in a movie that looked a certain way, and then Aimée uses her amazing fashion expertise to say which designer works in which house and how that can be translated. It’s so fun to work with someone with that extensive knowledge. I’ve also got better at saying what outfits I do and don’t like. When I was first starting out, you just want to go, ‘Oh yeah, that’s fine, everything’s great.’ But now I think myself and Aimée have such a shorthand that we both know when something isn’t working and we can move on quite quickly. Aimée always has so many different options, ideas, and such passion, so she’s always a pleasure to work with.”
What sort of fashion makes you feel most confident?
“It’s funny – with red-carpet dressing, it’s not quite like a costume, but I don’t feel like I’m fully my day-to-day self either. But I think the most important thing is that I feel like I’m wearing the dress, and the dress isn’t wearing me. I think when all of the pieces come together; when the make-up complements the styling; when the hair, the make-up and nails all work together; when the team who I work with feel like we’ve got a look that’s right on the money, it’s a very satisfying feeling. But when I’m off-duty, I’ll wear simple black dresses. I really love autumn and winter for wearing coats. I went into the back of my coat cupboard the other day and found a Penny Lane coat. I love feeling put-together with a nice coat and nice bag.”
How has your style evolved over the years?
“When I was at school, everyone had a distinct ‘look’ – I definitely wanted to have a ‘skater’ vibe. Nowadays, I think kids feel like they need to look a very specific way; I hope we haven’t lost that individuality, because having those tribes we fit in to is such a nice part of growing up. Then I really got into Sienna Miller and boho chic. Now I work with Aimée, I’ve become so much more aware of the different fashion houses, different designers and their specific aesthetics. And being in Bridgerton and seeing gowns being made has given me such a respect of the craft of fashion, and the artistry behind it. I feel I look at clothes differently now. I also buy a lot less! We’ve all shopped fast fashion in our lives but I’ve really tried to stop doing it, because I just used to have mounds and mounds of bad clothes that I used to go through really quickly. I love going through my wardrobe and seeing clothes I love and I’ve had for five years. I feel that’s the way we should be doing it.”
What’s been your most memorable fashion moment?
“I really loved the dress I wore to the New York Bridgerton premiere. It was a custom Daniel Franco design. On the day, Aimée said she thought everything needed to be all-white. And I suggested a nod to Marilyn Monroe with the make-up. I had this beautiful red lip and really fresh, modern Hollywood hair to complement it. It was like we were all firing on all cylinders, and it really worked.”
How do you deal with red-carpet nerves?
“I definitely find it nerve-wracking. I put it in a certain part of my brain – I feel like a very different person when I’m doing red carpets compared to doing my day-to-day. I let the effort be my protection. It’s my little bit of armour to protect myself when I go out in the world.”
What is your routine while getting ready?
“I’ve been working for the same team for about five years now, and we love getting ready together, it’s my favourite part of any event. I put some tunes on and we all have a chat and a catch up. If I’m lucky, I’ll have a friend coming with me. For Women of the Year, I have my friend Jack Rooke, the writer of Channel 4’s Big Boys, coming with me, so that should be fun. I’ve realised the perfect amount to drink before the red carpet is one glass of champagne. It’s enough to take the edge off, but you don’t feel drunk.”
When do you feel the most beautiful?
“I always feel the most beautiful when I’m being seen through the eyes of people that love me. In those moments when someone you love and respect tells you that you’re beautiful. I think that’s a really special thing.”
Fashion is often perceived as frivolous, but why does what we wear matter?
“It matters so much because it can make us feel so many different ways. People really do contain multitudes, and fashion can enhance it. There are certain times when I look in the mirror, even when it’s a day off, and I’m like, ‘Actually, I’m going to dress up today.’ I’ll put on my dress and make-up and it gives me a little bit of a lift. Then there are days I want a little more anonymity because sometimes life is a little crazy. Those times, if I dress a little more scruffily, I can go out into the world a little more unseen. Fashion is a beautiful form of self expression. It can be like wearable art, or it can be armour. It can be anything you really want it to be. Fashion tells a story about who people are.”
