Bel Powley is fizzing with excitement and nerves when we speak on a humid London morning at the beginning of September. The heady back-to-school mood in the air chimes with the actor’s own schedule. After the briefest of summers–which saw Bel do Glastonbury and squeeze in a quick trip to Greece with husband Douglas Booth–Powley has been in non-stop rehearsals for her return to the stage in Tom Stoppard’s The Real Thing at The Old Vic Theatre. As she gears up for the opening night, it’s all face masks in the fridge, ice cubes on the face (“I don’t know about you, but as soon as I drink or eat salt, my face inflates”), tea drinking and steaming (“to preserve my voice!”) before curtain call.
While the new production of Stoppard’s 1982 “kaleidoscopic comedy of love, infidelity and the stories we tell” marks something of a homecoming for Bel, whose introduction to the West End was via his ’83 play Arcadia when she was a late teen, it’s not Powley’s performance that’s on her mind; It’s the post-show debrief in the bar we’re on the line to discuss. With the champagne already on ice, Powley and her stylist Cher Coulter chose a playful look that befitted the leading lady’s star turn in her hometown: a custom Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini chartreuse silk top and bubblegum skirt with contrasting mustard Malone Souliers pumps. It is Powley, a breath of fresh air through and through, but with–to borrow a horrid internet term–serious “main character energy”.
“I really enjoy leaning into the fashion side of my job,” says the 32-year-old, who is known for her cutesy-with-a-twist Chanel and Miu Miu moments. “I fell in love with this look as soon as I saw the [fall 2024] collection–I’m definitely going to stand out, but it’s perfect for a quick change after the theatre!” Powley has worn Philosophy’s tailoring before (a grey suit with a Victoriana-style blouse was a particular favourite), but there’s something about this color-pop, micro-hemmed number that feels so right for a night holed up in a quintessential London watering hole post show.
For Coulter’s part, she told her client, “you have to have diamonds–it’s the West End!”, and secured Bel a pair of fabulous diamond waterfall earrings from Smiling Rocks, which looked pitch-perfect with a slicked-back tight bun (“it gives me a mini face lift,” says Bel), no make-up make-up and a flash of pink lipgloss.
The imminent London Fashion Week will miss Powley on its party circuit, but she’ll find time to nip to a couple of daytime shows before her pre-show steaming schedule commences. “I’m incredibly proud, it’s been a big honour reading Stoppard’s words and a real challenge playing Annie for myriad reasons,” shares this bright spark, who’s something of a tonic amidst the celebrity circus of Venice Film Festival. A standing ovation for this peppy Philosophy look, indeed.
