Emma Corrin’s Custom Miu Miu Gown For The Golden Globes Is Inspired By A Pierrot Clown

This year’s Golden Globes will mark Emma Corrin’s first major awards ceremony – a surreal experience under normal circumstances, but one that’s hard to even process 5,000 miles away from the Beverly Hilton. “It’s difficult to believe it’s actually happening,” the star of The Crown’s fourth season tells British Vogue over the phone from her mansion flat in north London. “I’m hoping that it will hit me at some point. For the moment I’ve been banned from the living room by my four housemates, who are getting it ready for tonight, as if it were my birthday or an engagement party, and I’ve sent my cockapoo Spencer to my parents’ house, in case he gets overwhelmed by it all. I feel incredibly lucky, but I do wish I could be with the cast as well.”

By the cast, of course, she means her Netflix co-stars: Oscar winner Olivia Colman, her newfound mentor Helena Bonham Carter, national treasure Gillian Anderson, and her close friend Josh O’Connor – all of whom are nominated at the Globes for their performances as Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Margaret, Margaret Thatcher, and Prince Charles, respectively. She will, however, be Zooming with O’Connor – whom she generously credits with the success of her performance as Diana, Princess of Wales – throughout the night.

And while Corrin may be celebrating her nomination – and predicted win – at home, she’s dressed for a celebrity red carpet courtesy of Miu Miu. “Lamby and I actually sent in some reference pictures,” she says, using the nickname for her friend and stylist, who is best known for his work with Harry Styles. “It probably sounds a little bit crazy, but we were inspired by Pierrot clowns, with their giant ruffs and androgynous silhouettes.”

For those not familiar with the cultural trope, the Pierrot character originated in 17th-century Paris as part of the so-called Comédie Italienne troup, and has served as an aesthetic reference for everyone from David Bowie to Lady Gaga through the years. As for Corrin’s make-up for the virtual ceremony? The actor is recreating the dramatic lashes in a 1966 portrait of Twiggy taken by Barry Lategan with a single tear drawn on in eyeliner – a slightly less dramatic take on the heavy paint normally associated with Pierrot.

And while Corrin is thrilled about her nomination at the Globes, she’s already looking ahead to her next project: an adaptation of Bethan Roberts’s 2012 novel, My Policeman, with Styles. “We’re due to begin shooting in early April,” she explains. “I’m currently doing a lot of preparation, reading the script again and again. It’s funny, because Diana is not only a real person, but an incredibly famous one, so I did so much highly specific research for the part. Now, I’m back to playing someone fictional, and it’s like – how do I do my job again?! It’s strange not having a biography to turn to, but actually it’s a lot of fun. I’ve done a sort of moodboard for my character, and I’m really excited about working with Harry, because we’re so close.”