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.”