Lily James spent the last year playing Pamela Anderson and unleashed her “inner Pammy”.
The night might have been chilly, but at this week’s premiere of What’s Love Got To Do With It? there was one person who got the world hot on his heels.
The film’s star, Lily James, left her mouth open and little to the imagination in her sheer corseted lime green Miu Miu dress and towering silver heels.
It was certainly a departure from the blushing blonde, who stumbled down the red carpet in a series of fairytale dresses after playing Cinderella eight years ago.
But this week’s busty display shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Because the truth is, 33-year-old Lily made a mark on the red carpet over the past year with her powerful, sexy new look.
If you look back at every dress she’s picked since January 2022, you’ll notice one theme: bold, form-fitting dresses that show the world she’s no fading wallflower.
Lily James starred as Pamela Anderson in the hit Hulu series last year
Lily James attending the premiere of What’s Love Got To Do With It? left her mouth open and little to the imagination in her sheer, corseted, lime green Miu Miu dress and towering silver heels.
So what’s behind her style sea change? After all, she’s had the same stylist since 2015, celebrity favorite Rebecca Corbin-Murray.
Well, her metamorphosis from a young twenty-year-old in sweeping Oscar De La Renta and Elie Saab gowns to today’s screen siren began around the time she played Baywatch bombshell Pamela Anderson on the television series Pam & Tommy.
At the premiere on January 24 last year, Lily drew a lot of attention in a silver Atelier Versace mini dress with a cut-out bodice and bra-like straps that showed off the curves she’d worked so hard on with a personal trainer, to get in beach babe shape.
Viewers assumed Lily was simply borrowing Pammy’s vibe to interrupt the show. Yet as the months went by, the sultry, form-fitting outfits continued.
In March, Lily opted for a mini dress and thigh-high boots by Roberto Cavalli for the Vogue and Tiffany fashion and film party.
At the Oscars later that month, she chose a baby pink lace dress from Versace with a thigh-high slit that revealed her fabulous legs and left the cape-like skirt behind.
At May’s Met Gala in New York, she again opted for Versace, which flashed the thighs, this time in a sheer, jeweled fabric that offered tantalizing glimpses of the flesh beneath.
Check out pictures of her rise to fame and you’ll find Lily in giant bows; classic polka dots and lots of flowers
Lily shined at the Oscars in a mesmerizing pale pink Versace gown
And at the BFI film festival in September, she cut a dramatic figure in the backless red Alaia.
It felt like a new Lily James – one who was becoming increasingly confident in owning her sexuality.
You can of course understand why Lily would want to break out of the mold the world has created for her.
With her diaphanous British accent, delicate features, and a filmography that includes adaptations of some literary classics (Rebecca, The Pursuit of Love, Cinderella), it was always tempting to cast Lily in the most terrifying of clichés, the English rose. (To be honest, I don’t think there’s a single British actress who’s ever made it into the tough world of Hollywood who could be considered a “tender flower.”)
But for years, Lily’s choice of classic red carpet dresses and floaty midi dresses only cemented that reputation further. Check out images of her from her rise to fame as Lady Rose at Downton Abbey in 2013, until the pandemic put an end to awards shows and premieres in 2020, and you’ll see her shine in giant bows (Valentino); classic polka dots (Petar Petrov) and lots and lots of flowers (Emilia Wickstead, Preen, Alexander McQueen and Saloni).
On January 24 last year, Lily drew a lot of attention in a silver Atelier Versace mini dress with a cut-out bodice and bra-like straps (pictured left). The next month, she wore another striking Versace outfit at Milan Fashion Week (right)
In March 2022, Lily was photographed by Del Core in a crop top and pants at the LA Film Awards (pictured left). That same month, Lily wore a see-through dress designed by Roberto Cavalli (right) to a screening of Pam & Tommy in Los Angeles.
And yet I’ve always thought her early style was at odds with the Lily James I’ve seen and met.
I shared a table with her at the British Fashion Awards in December 2019. Fresh from her split with ex-Doctor Who star Matt Smith, she wore a white Valentino dress.
Lily wasn’t a delicate wallflower that night; She was funny, flirty – and one of the sexiest actresses I’ve ever met.
It was as if the room was tilting toward her as she walked. ELLE magazine, which I edited, almost photographed her for the cover a few months later (as is usual with these things, the timing wasn’t quite right) and unlike most Hollywood actresses, Lily was very ready to see experimenting with her.
Even back then, you could sense that the real Lily James was itching to step out of her prescribed fashion comfort zone.
In March 2022, Lily opted for a mini dress and thigh-high boots by Roberto Cavalli for the Vogue and Tiffany fashion and film party
May 2022: Lily wears a daring Versace safety pin at the Met Gala after-party
At the BFI film festival in September, Lily cut a dramatic figure in Alaia in vintage red with a cleavage back
At last year’s Met Gala in New York, Lily wore a stunning bejeweled Versace gown
I think you just have to look at the men Lily has dated – fellow star Matt Smith; an alleged affair with her married “Pursuit Of Love” co-star Dominic West and her most recent ex-partner, American rock musician Michael Shuman – to know that this is one woman unwilling to accept a man’s silly arm- willingness to be.
I’m wondering if there’s anything surprising about this “new” look at all.
In fact, I’d bet money on the fact that this provocative new style is far more representative of the woman Lily really is. . .
Body conscious, wonderfully mischievous, oozing with sex appeal – and finding it so amusing that we’re only just beginning to realize this English rose has thorns.
Lily James spent the last year playing Pamela Anderson and unleashed her “inner Pammy”. Read More »