Not everyone can say they researched Dior’s New Look at the age of 12, but Maisie Williams–who was catapulted into the limelight as the feisty upstart, Arya Stark, in Game of Thrones–grew up a little quicker than most. Disillusioned by the dresses red-carpet stylists deemed appropriate for a pre-teen, Maisie took matters into her own hands and Googled: “Which designer is known for a structured and cinched waist?” Dior was her answer.
“I’ve never told anyone this,” she says over Zoom from Gleneagles hotel, where a Scottish breakfast finds its way to Williams as she downloads on the Dior Cruise 2025 show at Drummond Castle, Perthshire. While resort presentations of this magnitude are an opportunity to see and be seen for some, Williams–who played Catherine Dior in The New Look, a recent post-World War II drama charting the rise of Christian Dior and his contemporaries–understands the special place the brand holds in history. “The collection was staggering,” notes this budding critic. “My favorite pieces were the tabard-esque tops–which felt very medieval, but super punk and brash and young–and didn’t compromise on the flattering silhouettes Maria Grazia Chiuri is known for. I love [the thought of] taking inspiration from armor, or things we wouldn’t associate as being feminine, and making it beautiful.”
Dave Benett/Getty Images
Dave Benett/Getty Images
A style chameleon in her own right, Williams’s look for the show–a leopard-print shorts suit with the nipped waist she loves–pushed her out of the late ’50s silhouette she has called home since The New Look promo tour, and towards the ’60s. “I’ve done a lot of looks throughout my career–like pink hair and sparkly eyeshadow and things that felt very poppy and fun and expressive–but more recently, I’ve been going for things that are more traditional or classic, and it’s making me feel really confident, which is nice,” shares the now-27-year-old, who could write an essay on the narrative around cat-eye flicks, which she absolutely nailed last night with a new fuller flipped-wing shape that’s a departure from the straight liner she’s seeing a lot. The Alice band lending preppy polish to her blow-dry? A pair of fishnet tights employed last minute by hairstylist Ken O’Rourke and make-up artist Aurélie Payen.