The Daily Telegraph - Features
‘She’s taking even more fashion risks now she’s older’
After wowing at the premiere for her Disney+ show, Renegade Nell, Joely Richardson and her stylist Jennifer Michalski-Bray talk to Bethan Holt about the joy of dressing up and pushing style boundaries
Joely Richardson was practically born to wear clothes fabulously. The daughter of acting legend and national style treasure Vanessa Redgrave and director Tony Richardson, her first performance was as an extra in her father’s film The Charge of the Light Brigade, aged three. An illustrious career has followed in films and television including Lady Chatterley’s Lover, 101 Dalmatians and Nip/Tuck, accompanied by a fashion record, which has seen Richardson hailed as one of Britain’s most elegant women. But now, aged 59, she’s hitting a new high, as proven by a slew of adventurous recent looks.
Take the striking metallic red Hermès dress she wore on Tuesday evening for the premiere of her new Disney+ show Renegade Nell, complete with coordinated accessories and a pile of jangling bangles – Richardson looked ready to dance the night away at Studio 54. “I loved the dress’s ease and exuberance,” the actress tells me between promotional duties. “Lady Eularia, my character in the show, is so expressive through her clothes so it seemed fitting, I love strong clothes.” It’s an excellent example of the “method dressing” trend currently sweeping Hollywood (see also, Margot Robbie wearing pink at every Barbie-related awards show).
Richardson’s stylist, Jennifer Michalski-Bray, picks up the back
‘I’m so happy that older women are being celebrated in fashion’
story to the disco-tastic ensemble. “Joely is always willing to try anything, which is really nice. If I’m into something, she’ll always put it on,” she says. “The vision I had for the dress was very 1970s with big hair and make-up, loads of bangles. And then full on OTT with the matching Hermès accessories, I think that’s what knocked the look out of the ballpark.” Indeed, “stunning”, “amazing” and “total glamour puss” were just a smattering of the reactions to Richardson’s look online.
Hermès has become an important element of Richardson’s style recently. “They are huge fans of Joely and she’s so well suited to the brand,” says Michalski-Bray, who describes Richardson as “the ideal Hermès woman”. “She has her life in the country with her dogs and gardening, which feels like such a perfect fit for Hermès,” she says. But Richardson’s chameleonic abilities mean that she’s as able to epitomise the French luxury label’s more outre designs as she is its quiet classics.
Another look that Hermès took as its starting point was the thigh-high boots and feathered mini dress that Richardson wore for the premiere of Netflix’s The Gentlemen, in which she plays Lady Sabrina, the dowager duchess mother attempting to save her family from the criminal underworld. “We often make decisions at the 11th hour.
The black Taller Marmo dress came as a result of the fabulous Hermès boots, the boots chose the dress,” Richardson remembers. “I love fishnets so wanted those too.”
She alludes to the sense of attitude and daring that the dress shared with the LBD Princess Diana wore in 1994 on the evening Charles admitted to his affair with Camilla. “It was a funny moment when the dress was dubbed ‘the non-revenge, revenge dress’ as I’d nothing to be revenged at, it was
an evening of fun celebrating the work we’d all done.”
For Michalski-Bray, the LBD was the result of her rising to a challenge from Richardson. “She told me she wanted something really ‘wow’, a proper showstopper which was so different from what she’s done before,” she recalls. “You don’t see many 59-year-olds wearing a dress like that but it was her way of showing that you can have fun with fashion at any age.”
As she nears her 60th birthday next year, Richardson couldn’t be happier about the way fashion is embracing all ages. “I’m so happy that older women are being celebrated in fashion at the moment with things like Maggie Smith’s Loewe campaign,” she says. “The French have always been fabulous at that, I’m glad everyone has followed suit.”
In turn, Richardson is a wonderful advert for not allowing age stereotypes to get in the way of enjoying dressing up. “Joely is really into taking big fashion risks at the moment, she’s just embracing fashion and I’m having fun with that,” says Michalski-Bray. “Age is just a number and Joely definitely proves that,” she continues. “She can pull off any outfit.”
Naturally, it helps that Richardson is statuesque and beautiful, but Michalski-Bray insists it’s just as much about attitude as physical attributes. “My advice would be to just put something on, and if you feel good, wear it. I wouldn’t worry about something being too short because you’re over a certain age.
“If you’re having fun with fashion, that’s the most important thing. I love having a fun element with everything we do.”
Beyond the premieres, Michalski-Bray has put together a wardrobe of daytime looks for Richardson’s promotional duties, which also reflect this new appetite for pushing boundaries. On This Morning earlier this week, Richardson wore a belted black midi dress by Safiyaa crafted from vegan leather. She loves Stella McCartney for her sustainability credentials and looked great in an embellished black co-ord by the designer this week. Other favourites include chunky Louis Vuitton loafers, Anna Mason blouses and Me+Em trousers. “I love that Jennifer brings new designers into the picture,” says Richardson. “I count myself crazy lucky to be able to model and create stories around these pieces. I’m so used to working with costume designers in film, TV and theatre that creating a look is all about character.”
One label that Richardson returns to time after time is Roksanda. A highlight of London Fashion Week is always seeing the star and her mother take their place on the front row of the designer’s show. This is evidently a deep and long-lasting relationship instead of the one-season wonder appearances you often see from other brands and celebrities. Invariably, Richardson is wearing some kind of gorgeously louche suit or vibrantly graceful Goddess gown from the collection. “Roksanda has been a love affair,” she confirms. “Every piece of hers is a work of art and I love that her designs are 100 per cent inclusive of age, size, even gender. She taps into the beauty and strength within.”
One area where Richardson and Michalski-Bray differ? Their takes on the actress’s off-duty style.“I’m scruffy and blend in when not working,” insists Richardson, although she does concede that amidst the jeans and tracksuits, she does love Wales Bonner.
Michalski-Bray observes things a little differently. “She looks incredible in her off-duty style, like she just rolled out of a Ralph Lauren campaign,” she argues. “She’s always dressed impeccably. She’s great at putting outfits together. She sticks to a certain colour palette, a lot of cream and tans. She has star quality, that presence.” Having seen pictures on social media of Richardson in her everyday uniform, I’d say Michalski-Bray’s assessment is accurate, though of course the very essence of Richardson’s off-duty chic is its nonchalance.
Her final word on impeccable dressing at 59? “I think too much good taste can be bad taste.”