“It’s quite steamy,” says Luke Newton, hours before the London premiere of the second half of Bridgerton season three: words sure to be met with relief (and no small amount of lust) from #Polin fans across the nation. “I knew people would find it frustrating,” Newton adds of Netflix’s decision to release the latest instalment of Shonda Rhimes’s phenomenally popular Regency romp in two parts. It meant that, after at last witnessing Colin Bridgerton almost-but-not-quite deflowering his childhood friend, next-door neighbour and number-one fan Penelope Featherington in her horse-drawn carriage, fans have had to wait weeks to find out what happens next.
The delayed gratification will be worth it, insists the actor and newly minted internet boyfriend, who—along with his co-star Nicola Coughlan—has stepped into the full glare of the spotlight this season as their characters finally went from friends to lovers. “It means viewers can digest the show a bit better,” he says. “Moments like the carriage scene have really resonated—I don’t know if that would be the case if it had all come out at once.” Newton knows, it seems, just how much rewatching has been taking place in the intervening weeks.
“I’ve never experienced anything like the fandom, it’s been incredible,” says the 31-year-old, who has criss-crossed the globe with his co-stars to promote the show in recent months. “We feel very lucky to have visited all these places.” The London screening feels like something of a homecoming—as well as an opportunity for he and Nicola to reflect on their characters’ journeys. “It’s almost celebrating five years of work rather than just one season,” he says. “We’ve been working on this particular love story season after season, building up the tension…”
It also marks the culmination of a new chapter in Newton’s personal style. “This is actually the first year that I’ve really started to enjoy it,” he says of dressing for the red carpet—something he attributes to working with Holly White, who first styled him for British Vogue’s 2023 Fashion & Film party. “[Before that] I didn’t really see the link between the two: being an actor and the fashion world… [Working with Holly] has really opened my eyes to it. Our group chat is constantly popping off with suggestions of looks. I really enjoy it.”
“We definitely went into this whole process with leading man energy in mind,” says White, who describes her client as “an absolute joy to work with”. “We first met in February last year, ahead of the Vogue party, so we’ve had a lot of time to get to know each other and prepare over recent months—you don’t always get that in this job. We’ve had so much fun. It’s just been a joy.”
For the London screening, they landed on an oversized Emporio Armani suit with detailed floral embellishment at the collar—a nod to the fragrant world of Bridgerton’s ballrooms—worn with a Chopard watch and a chunky shoe (“I love a chunky shoe,” says White). “It felt like a modern take on a three-piece suit—the waistcoat is worn on top of the blazer,” she explains. “The embellished shoulder pads are actually flowers, which felt like a chic and understated nod to the show.”
Newton’s growing enthusiasm for fashion has seen him step away from the trad red-carpet tux to experiment with logo tanks, sequins and denim suiting. “I feel like he’s really trusted me, which has enabled us to take risks, and be slightly bolder,” says White, who has form for dressing Gen-Z heartthrobs (Joe Locke and Ed McVey are also on her books). “They’ve already got the goods!” she says of her most obsessed-over clients. “Honestly I’m just here to finesse! My job is to build confidence.”
That confidence is very much in evidence in the case of Newton, who nonetheless appreciates that he can still slip under the radar when he’s not wearing oversized brooches and Armani tailoring. “It can get overwhelming,” he says of the frenzy surrounding the press tour, sounding a little like his self-effacing alter-ego, Colin. “But in my private life I can still go to the coffee shop in my cap and sunnies. I’m doing some of the [menswear] fashion shows next week, and the bit I’m most excited about is that it’s not about me.”
This story originally published on British Vogue
