By Ingrid Schmidt
Illustration by Kelly Bailey.
After years in Los Angeles building a haute Hollywood roster including Kate Bosworth, Elizabeth Olsen, and Sienna Miller, British-born fashion stylist Cher Coulter quietly returned to London just before the pandemic hit. “I really had to start over again,” she says. “It was a whole new world.” These days, she’s on top of that world, dressing a bevy of stars. Among them: Powley and husband, Douglas Booth, Michelle Dockery, Callie Cooke, Hermione Corfield, Denise Gough, Haley Bennett, Caitlin FitzGerald, Rosy McEwen, Sylvia Hoeks, Mia McKenna-Bruce, and Honor Swinton Byrne, daughter of Tilda Swinton and playwright John Byrne.
Actress Hermione Corfield, styled by Coulter. Photo @chercoulter.
“All the girls I work with are truly individual and have either popped off or are about to,” she says. “Bel’s in the upcoming HBO Harry Potter series, so she’s going to blow up, and Mia plays Ringo Starr’s first wife in Sam Mendes forthcoming four-film Beatles biopic. They’re all great actors and the kind of brilliant girls I would have over for dinner any day of the week. I don’t have space for divas.”
From her home in London, Coulter shared her early forays into fashion, what spring pieces are feeling most forward, and the investment pieces she plans to wear now and forever.
Actress Haley Bennett styled by Coulter. Photo @chercoulter.
Did you have an early interest in fashion?
I always loved dressing up. From a young age, we played Fashion Wheel, a game where create the silhouette of an outfit. In my small town of Letchworth, there was a fashion illustrator, Sarah Leete, whose boyfriend modeled for Bruce Weber. She was my world! She’d bring me to jobs in London with her and let me color some of her drawings. When I was 16, she introduced me to a woman who hired me to help with dressing at fashion shows alongside [legendary stylist and editor] Katie Grand. Then I got into Central Saint Martins and was living the London fashion dream!
Weren’t Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen at Saint Martins then?
Stella was a year above me and so was Anita Pallenberg, smoking cigarettes in the print room. McQueen was older, walking the corridors, but I didn’t know him. Phoebe Philo was my good friend, and we lived next door to each other in West London.
Actress Michelle Dockery, styled by Coulter. Photo @chercoulter.
You designed for brands and also your own menswear label, AKA?
Yes, my classmate Anne Marie Ng and I set up a label and had a stall at Portobello Market on Saturdays. Then we started making fast fashion for Urban Outfitters in the UK. We would scavenge around, buy a roll of fabric down Brick Lane, and make a ton of skirts. That helped us fund our menswear collection, sold at Browns and some Japanese shops. At the time, everything was very androgynous, very now. We did a line of T-shirts for the film About a Boy, with Hugh Grant, to help us get by.
How did you land in Los Angeles?
I had worked as a nanny in Santa Cruz and loved the surf and street culture in California. I went to visit a friend in LA and took my T-shirts into Flaunt magazine. The guy at the music desk invited me to The Streets concert at The Roxy. Orlando Bloom, who I used to go clubbing with when I was at Saint Martins, walked in, and I ended up styling him for a Flaunt cover. He was dating Kate Bosworth at the time, so I started working with her, too.
Can you compare the style perspectives in LA versus London?
London is a fashion capital of the world. Paris is around the corner. So we are creating the trends. LA is a bit more secondhand with those trends, but very good at making them polished and more understandable. Whereas in London, there might be more risk-taking. The way the red carpet works now is people want to get noticed. They want to do something shocking, so maybe they’ve got their nipples out. I don’t like the desperation. But I like the fact that fashion is way more adventurous than it ever was.
One of Coulter’s moodboards with an emphasis on bright pops of color. Courtesy of Cher Coulter.
Which collections are you loving for spring?
I massively love Prada and Miu Miu. My spring moodboard is full of color, and Prada is the epitome—like the mint-green ’60s dress layered over an orange skirt. Also the mix of masculine and feminine. A worn-in oversized utilitarian jacket that looks like you nicked it from your boyfriend worn over a butter-yellow dress. The styling is fantastic. You can wear that jacket over jeans on a country walk or throw it over a sparkly dress with a kitten heel for a fashion event. This season Miu Miu was about aprons; I love how Miuccia [Prada] can make a garment you’re so familiar with suddenly become something else.
What’s your take on all the new designer debuts?
Matthieu Blazy stood out to me, with his genius reinterpretation of Chanel’s heritage that was luxurious and fashionable and so desirable. He nailed it in terms of creating modern classics with layered texture. Those sheer tweed twin sets and skirts in an open-gauge, macramé-like weave were very clever. He honored everything Chanel can afford to offer in terms of detail from skilled masters. Jonathan Anderson for Dior was beautiful, and Dario Vitale dug into that Versace archive and reimagined it for a cool young kid.
Any fresh accessories on your radar?
Scarves are making a comeback. Celine made beautiful scarves, and Miu Miu showed neckerchiefs. I also like finding vintage scarves. Maybe you wear one around your waist, like a belt. It’s a great layering piece to jazz up a look.
What are your pivotal wardrobe pieces?
I always say a great jacket, because that’s the first thing you see. A good blazer, a smart coat, and a great casual leather jacket are investment pieces. Miu Miu did an amazing leather jacket for spring that looks vintage, and Chloé did a great one that almost looks like a dress. If you are going to a special wedding in the summer, a Chloé dress is the dream. It’s super-feminine and stands the test of time, because Chemena [Kamali]’s references are so retro.
What’s your go-to everyday bag?
My caramel-y color Miu Miu Wander bag. I always feel good with it no matter what I’m wearing. It feels like protection!
How about a cool shoe everyone’s wearing?
In London, there are a lot more flats and sneakers going on. Prada did a lot of nice kitten heels that seem right-pretty but also practical and sharp.
Final fashion thoughts?
To me, the most exciting thing about Spring-Summer is that fashion’s gone back to being the opposite of quiet luxury. There is a lot of color and texture and detail and fun! You can mix it up. Put a frilly dress over your jeans. Mix Prada with an old vintage top. If you’ve made a mistake, that mistake might be quite interesting.
