is in the middle of a niche in Sussex when she calls American Magazine to film the weather just before the Olivier Awards. Because the artistic off-the-shoulder outfit called to her from the clothes rail, she has chosen to wear Matthieu Blazy’s work for the West End’s grand night. She claims that it is exactly the opposite of the dark outfits she wore to enjoy the dark, rebel personality Medea, for which she received a Best Actress nomination as a result as storm crackles down the line.
The British artist maintains she’s “not really good at talking about fashion”, but, as spring ’s continual wind envelops her, she allows herself to move into the of it all. I saw the clothing on the hanger, and I had to have a hearty sigh of relief, Okonedo says. I wanted to stand up on stage and get bright and shiny, never Medea. I wanted to feel like myself. ” For Sophie’s artist, Nell Kalonji, whom she met on a shot for this newspaper, it was the great meet: “The clothing was the first one we tried in. We looked at each other and said, ‘Well that ’s that next. ’ ”
If this harmony is the norm today, where Kalonji claims,” I can tell within five seconds whether Sophie is into it or not,” Okonedo points out that trend has not always been this simple. Nell credits Nell with restoring the joy of dressing to her life. It feels more like an experience than a chore in these days, and it extends beyond Okonedo’s creative process as much as the code she reads. “Fashion has changed quite a lot since I was young – it is more inclusive of different shapes, sizes, colours, ” shares the 55-year-old, whose career spanned the usual rite-of-passage TV favourites ( Casualty, The Bill ) before taking her to the big screen ( Death on the Nile, Wild Rose ). There was a certain type of woman back then, and stars were shaped into that. ” For Kalonji, it ’s usually about individualism: “You is place someone in the most wonderful look, but if they are not feeling it, they don’t sell the story on the floor. ”