So we are officially only a week out from Barbie hitting theaters, aka the most highly anticipated movie event of the year.
Directed by Greta Gerwig and written by Greta and Noah Baumbach, Barbie is set to follow Barbie (Margot Robbie) as she lives in Barbie Land with Ken (Ryan Gosling) and other Barbies and Kens. However, one day Barbie decides to take a trip to the real world.
I mean, Margot's tributes to various Barbie dolls throughout the years have been truly stunning.
And yesterday we had yet another Barbie event when the cast gathered for the European premiere in London. It also marked the first time some cast members, including Emma Mackey and Ncuti Gatwa, have been at a Barbie red carpet event this press cycle.
Fashion is such an important aspect of Barbie, so it's been awesome to see what everyone has worn to these premieres, and last night Nicola Coughlan wore one of my favorite Barbie press tour looks.
Styled by Aimée Croysdill, Nicola wore a custom silver Wiederhoeft dress, in collaboration with the sustainable fashion brand Tencel, with a corset and Swarovski glass crystals.
The gorgeous dress was coupled with Messika jewelry and custom Malone Souliers shoes to complete the perfect ensemble.
Speaking to British Vogue about her outfit, Nicola explained that the dress was inspired by her character in Barbie, Diplomat Barbie, and the Sparkle Eyes Barbie doll she had growing up.
In fact, Barbie costume designer Jacqueline Durran paid tribute to the Sparkle Eyes Barbie for Nicola's Diplomat Barbie outfit after Nicola mentioned she loved the doll.
"When this [movie] first came about, I was like, 'This is going to be the funnest red carpet,'" Nicola recalled. "I thought it'd be amazing to reference the look from the movie, so when I spoke to Aimée, I said I'd love to wear something silver and inspired by [the Sparkle Eyes Barbie]."
The result was the custom Wiederhoeft dress with Swarovski glass crystals to reference the Barbie's diamond eyes, and the corset ended up being a little nod to Bridgerton as well.
Nicola explained the Bridgerton connection, telling British Vogue, "I’ve had the privilege of wearing so many incredible costumes on Bridgerton, especially in Season 3. I really got a new appreciation for corsetry, and Aimée 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."
Alongside the outfit, Nicola also debuted new red hair, which was inspired by the red hair she has as Diplomat Barbie in Barbie.
After the event, Nicola took to Instagram to share her red carpet look and explain how much being a small part of Barbie meant to her.
She wrote, "I auditioned for Barbie back in January 22 when I was on holiday with friends, I'd packed one random hot pink dress I hadn’t worn at all and when I had to make my audition tape I thought- this is fate, I have a dress in Barbie Pink! I have been obsessed with Greta since Frances Ha, that movie (and all her movies since) have made such a huge impact on me and the prospect of working with her was something I couldn’t even have imagined."
She continued, "When I found out she wanted to have me be part of @barbiethemovie, and then that I probably wouldn’t be able to make it work because of my schedule I was firstly elated and quickly heartbroken. So when I was asked if I wanted to pop into Barbieland even briefly my answer was an immediate, and very emphatic yes."
She concluded the heartfelt post, saying, "I don’t have the words to describe this movie, when I wasn’t beaming at the screen with how joyful it made me, or laughing so hard at Ryan Gosling (immediate Oscar TBH) it made me cry unexpected tears. Greta and Noah have written the most beautiful, hilarious script and Margot has made it come to life- not only as the perfect Barbie but as an incredible producer."
She added, "It’s just the most special thing I’ve seen in a long, long, long time and I can’t wait to watch it again."
I love how much thought Nicola and her styling team put into her Barbie premiere look, and now I'll be waiting for the surely stunning look she'll pull off for the eventual Bridgerton Season 3 premiere.
