As Queen Charlotte, Bridgerton's Golda Rosheuvel might be the very paradigm of Regency's high society dressing; all stiff, overstated elegance in crinolines, corsetry and richly decorative panniered skirts, but in real life, the actor's fashion sense is nothing short of avant garde.
'I love fashion, because of the storytelling element of it. You can tell so many stories with clothes. They express a mood, a vibration, energies and emotions. One of my favourite things is to dress up,' says Rosheuvel, 52, as she sits with her stylist, and ELLE Fashion Editor Georgia Medley, making final choices for the Netflix premiere of Season 2 at London's Tate Modern.
And a mood she certainly is. The woman has never slept on an opportunity to turn it all the way up, be that for a premiere, round table or London Fashion Week show. From sweeping, neon accented Roksanda two-pieces, which natural hair expert Dionne Smith styled with a show-stopping afro, through to the inimitable voluminous tiered tulle of Simone Rocha which Rosheuvel wore with finger waves, kiss curls and pearl-encrusted brogues, Bridgerton's monarch is a Queen of reinvention in her own life.
'Do you know the artist Daniel Lismore?' she asks. 'He describes himself as a human sculpture. The way that he dresses and selects his clothes - it's an art form. And I think, in my kind of small way, that's what I want my fashion to be. I want my style to speak to something. It's theatrical, but it comes from honesty. It comes from authenticity. It's a creative expression of real parts of my personality.'
Though her personal style might on the surface appear to be a stark departure from that of her on-screen character's, there are some things she's borrowed from Charlotte. 'I've been thinking a lot about 'dynasty' at the moment,' she muses. 'I get to play a Queen but I am also watching our own royalty and Queen Elizabeth perhaps coming to the end of her career and it's made me interested to bring an element of dynasty into my clothing.'
Having invited ELLE into her dressing room for a sneak peek of the premiere look ahead of the red carpet, I can certainly confirm its giving 2022 'modern nobility.' Rocheuvel is wearing Central Saint Martins student designer Mia Coco Chambers, which Medley has styled with pearl earrings and ring by Japanese jewellery brand TASAKI and a Swarovski bracelet and ring. The outfit involves an intricately embroidered cloche cape overlaying a column dress. It's striking even just for its shape.
'What [Mia Coco Chambers has] done to create it, the artistry of it is just amazing. It's an art piece. It makes a statement on its own, and to be able to use my body to facilitate that statement, that's so great,' she enthuses.
While Queen Charlotte's role, in many ways, is to pick out the season's diamond, among the eligible young women, I point out that in tonight's stand-out premiere look, Rosheuvel is really the diamond. Does she like being the centre of attention?
'Yeah. Yes. And I think that it's alright to feel that way. I don't think we need to apologise for that,' she responds. And in another thought, 'My style is also a statement about feeling confident about myself; about who I was, who I am now, as a biracial woman, as a gay woman. Yeah, I'm definitely 100% going to celebrate tonight. And be my own diamond, baby.'
We touch briefly on what it's like to work with now-legendary maverick of television Shonda Rimes: 'Shonda has injected so much of her passion for women, for people of colour into her work. So to be able to continue that story, to be able to continue that journey with a character that we know from history was Black... to be able to push the boundaries even further. You know, to be able to create a space for Black and Brown artists, Black and Brown characters to be celebrated is amazing, beautiful, glorious. It is a dream. It's very special.'
And also whether she prefers stage or screen: 'They're completely different. You use different muscles for stage and I love being in the same room as the audience. You all go on a journey together. But with screen, it's really good for the ego, you have to trust the director's decisions. I also love to sit on set (sometimes it was impossible for me to move anyway in the costumes) and watch everything happen when they're changing for a different scene. It's such a beautiful ballet that the production and crew perform to change the lenses, the camera, the props and the set for a different shot.'
And we finish eventually with a tidbit of Bridgerton on-set gossip: 'Newton the dog was an absolute nightmare,' she laughs. 'He was an absolute diva.'
Bridgerton Seaons 2 premieres tonight in London and you can watch it on Netflix from March 25.
