From Fleabag to fabulously fashionable: Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Hollywood glow-up as she steals the show at partner Martin McDonagh’s Venice Film Festival premiere
It’s Fleabag, but not as we know her. Gone is the university uniform of striped T-shirts, dungarees and trainers. Instead, Phoebe Waller-Bridge has cemented herself as a style icon, wowing audiences and critics alike with her red-carpet looks.
On Thursday night, the Killing Eve creator, 41, stole the spotlight from her filmmaker partner Martin McDonagh, 56, at the premiere of his film Wild Horse Nine during the Venice Film Festival.
In a rare public appearance with her other half, Phoebe arrived in custom Celine, sporting a trendy white cape and black trousers to match her partner’s suit.
The pair – considered one of the film world’s most prolific power couples – have been dating since 2017 and sparked engagement rumours in 2023. Phoebe even flashed a huge diamond ring as she posed for pictures at the premiere yesterday.
She appeared to be in her element as she showcased the ensemble which she finished off with a pair of sunglasses, looking like the epitome of cool-girl chic.
The A-lister’s shift from slouchy playsuits, ill-fitted shirts and garish patterns appears to have started around 2019, when Anna Wintour put her on the cover of American Vogue in a Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello cut-out dress.
Around the same time Phoebe started working with one of Hollywood’s secret weapons: fashion stylist Elizabeth Saltzman, who has dressed Gwyneth Paltrow and Saoirse Ronan and was once ranked as the 12th most powerful stylist in the world by Hollywood Reporter.
She stopped working with the stylist in 2020, reportedly then hiring Ryan Hastings, who has dressed Carey Mulligan, Natalie Portman and Anya Taylor-Joy, all of whom enjoy edgier red carpet styles, like Phoebe.
On Thursday night, Phoebe Waller-Bridge stole the spotlight from her filmmaker partner Martin McDonagh at the premiere of his film Wild Horse Nine during the Venice Film Festival
Before working with a stylist, Phoebe (pictured left in 2011, right in 2017) preferred to keep things simple, often opting for shift dresses and white shirts
Her status as a fashionable icon was secured after her 2023 press tour to promote Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, sporting a gorgeous chainmail dress on the red carpet
The actress’ status as a red carpet icon was firmly secured after her 2023 press tour to promote Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
She dropped jaws in a chainmail dress with a cream floor-length cape in London and wore a plunging Roland Mouret jumpsuit to the premiere in Germany.
Before working with a stylist, Phoebe preferred to keep things simple, opting for navy shift dresses, white shirts or floral patterns.
It’s unclear whether she still works with a fashion expert now on her wardrobe, with The Telegraph reporting that stylist Ryan Hastings dressed her after Elizabeth Saltzman for the Cannes Film Festival.
Award-winning fashion stylist Lisa Talbot told The Daily Mail how ‘Phoebe’s style evolution is a great example of how you can elevate your look without losing what makes you recognisably you’.
She added: ‘We’ve previously been used to seeing Phoebe in a much more relaxed, slightly quirky aesthetic, so this Venice look feels like another real step up in polish.
‘The Celine outfit is understated but incredibly chic, the flowing white blouse, dramatic scarf and wide-leg black trousers create a strong, elongated silhouette, while the sunglasses add that effortless Hollywood attitude.
‘What I particularly like is that it doesn’t feel as though she’s been styled into somebody else. The look still has that slightly nonchalant, individual quality that Phoebe is known for, but it’s been refined.
‘That’s often what a real style transformation looks like not changing who you are, but turning up the volume on your best features.’
Lisa continued: ‘There’s also something very current about the simplicity of it. Rather than relying on lots of accessories or obvious glamour, the impact comes from beautiful proportions, strong tailoring and confidence.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge attends the premiere of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny in Berlin
Phoebe attends a photocall in 2023, with expert Lisa Talbot describing her fashion as ‘a great example of how you can elevate your look without losing what makes you recognisably you’
Phoebe attends the 71st Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on September 2019 in Los Angeles
‘The oversized silhouette feels modern, while the monochrome palette keeps it sophisticated.
‘Phoebe looks like a woman who knows exactly who she is and her clothes are now communicating that before she’s even said a word.’
The actress has enjoyed a very successful decade with her career, finances, as well as in her love life.
According to Companies House, her firm PMWB Limited made nearly £16million in the financial year ending last November.
She has also won Golden Globes, Emmys and a Bafta for smash-hit Fleabag and has been nominated for her work writing and producing Killing Eve.
Phoebe made her acting debut in 2009 at the Soho Theatre. She first introduced the world to Fleabag in 2013 when it was a one-woman show at the Edinburgh Festival.
She got her first shot at fame in 2015, starring in the second series of ITV drama Broadchurch as junior barrister Abby Thompson. But she catapulted to fame in 2016 when the first series of Fleabag aired on BBC Three.
