Getting couture show ready with Raffey Cassidy
The 2025 awards season is well underway, bringing with it a chance to spotlight some of the most promising and acclaimed artists in the film and television industry. Raffey Cassidy is one such talent, whose latest project, The Brutalist, looks poised to sweep accolades across the board, having already received multiple prestigious awards and nominations.
Despite her age, Cassidy is by no means new to the ways of the film industry. The 23-year-old has been taking on roles since the age of seven, building a complex and varying filmography, from The Killing of a Sacred Deer to Vox Lux, where she appeared alongside Natalie Portman and Jude Law.
In a testament to Cassidy's burgeoning talent, Brady Corbet (who directed Vox Lux) tapped her to work with him once again, this time in The Brutalist. The film follows an architect, played by Adrian Brody, and his wife, portrayed by Felicity Jones, as they leave post-war Europe for the horizons of America. The film is intense, breathtaking and original, and no doubt a career-defining moment for each of its cast members, but for Cassidy, the film has also left a more personal legacy. "It's so nice because the environment that Brady has created is like a family. We've all spent so much time around each other now that it really is," she tells us. "We've not been bickering yet, but I'm sure that's to come," she adds jokingly.
On the topic of awards season, we ask who she'd like to see recognised. "Adrian Brody, for sure. Brady Corbet, Guy and Felicity, all of them," she says. "I'm excited because it means I get to spend more time with the whole 'Brutalist' crew, my favourite people, wearing cool outfits."
Before the award show circuit gets in full swing, Cassidy made a pit stop in Paris, trading the red carpet for the runway as she attended her first ever Dior couture show. For the event, the French fashion house dressed the actress in a full look from its spectacular 2025 cruise collection. The show, which took place last June, was unveiled against the backdrop of Drummond Castle in Scotland, and weaved sartorial odes to the culture and landscape throughout, from heritage silhouettes to tartan and corseted bodices. Cassidy's all-black couture show look continued this homage, opting for a cotton trench corset adorned with illustrated patches, laced over a cotton poplin shirt, with a fabric balloon open skirt layered over loose shorts. Appropriate for the Scottish (and Parisian) weather, she completed the look with a pair of knee-high argyle socks and black rain boots.
Below, Cassidy shares an insight into her chosen couture show ensemble, her Venice red-carpet mishap, and her appreciation for an unexpected street-style subculture.
Can you talk us through your look for the Dior couture show today - what drew you to this particular outfit?
"I actually tried on two and it was the hardest decision ever. They were both from more of the punk side of the collection, and I loved it because I felt like myself, but it was like a heightened version of myself, like I was having fun and playing a character. The one I went with feels really cool, it makes you feel feminine at the same time as having kind of that darker, more punk vibe to it, and with the tartan, I think that's one of my favourite parts."
How do you decide which brands you want to work with?
"I think it's really relevant to what's going on in my life at the time, whether I'm doing a film, for example. The Brutalist is obviously about architecture, so I think it feels right to be wearing things at this time that really reference shape and construct. But also, when a designer believes in something that I agree with, it always translates to the clothes, so I like to look at that as well. Obviously, Maria [Grazia Chiuri] is a really cool designer and has made amazing things, so I'm so thankful to be here and getting to wear something she's designed. I think that's one of the most fun things as an actor, you're playing characters all the time, and then fashion basically allows you to carry that on. It doesn't stop just at the filming, you then get to go and do press and wear whatever. I mean, Zendaya is the biggest person for doing that isn't she, she'll always match her outfits, and it makes it really exciting to see what she's wearing."
What makes Dior such a great fit for you and your personal style?
"It's really hard to describe. I feel like myself in it but at the same time I'm getting to have fun with it and play, because sadly I'm not wearing Dior every day but it still speaks to what I do wear in my everyday style. For example, today, I'm wearing a corset, and so it's adding more and having more fun with my usual personal style."
How involved do you tend to be with the styling process?
"I'm very involved. I love fashion, I always have. I work with Rebecca Corbin-Murray who has been my stylist since I was about 15, so we have such a good rapport. It just means I get to spend time with people I enjoy being around, like Rebecca, doing fun things and creating outfits. I know I'm definitely prone to sometimes wanting to do more, and it's good to have Rebecca to be the eye and to say, 'Okay, maybe this is not the occasion to add that extra, whatever it may be.'"
What kind of fashion makes you feel your most confident?
"I think where I do a complete transformation, as in, I'm playing a character, instead of just wearing one thing. When I get to wear full outfits like I am today, that's when I feel most confident, because I know how much work someone has put into designing that outfit. They've thought about the belt and the socks and the jewellery, and that feels really special to be able to put that on and bring something to life for them."
How has your style evolved over the years?
"My style has changed, definitely, all throughout the years, but I've always been pretty adamant about what I'm into at the time. Well, I suppose I always used to be a hoodie or sweatshirt kind of girl, but of recent times, I'm way more into cardigans and jumpers."
What has been your most memorable fashion moment in recent years and why?
"I wore this beautiful blue dress at Venice Film Festival on the carpet and I was stood in the middle having pictures, it was for a film called Vox Lux which was directed by Brady Corbet, and Natalie Portman was in it, with Stacy Martin and Jude Law, and I was in the middle and all of a sudden I realised that my feet were wrapped around so tightly in my dress that I actually couldn't move. I whispered it to Brady, and then it was the longest 90 seconds of my life while I was stood in the middle of the carpet and they were trying to untangle me. Even though it was the worst at the time, now it's a good memory that we all have together."
Whose style have you always admired and why?
"Skateboarders, I think they have the coolest style. They will always have on really baggy jeans, but then, like, the coolest fitting jackets. They almost seem tailored, but in an unfitted way. You can't tell me that the whole Illegal Civ crew are not the coolest. They all just look cool. They can pull everything off, so I'd say them."
What do you enjoy about attending the couture shows?
"Everything. I think I'm hyper aware about the amount of hours that have gone into creating that one piece, and it feels so special that you get to be there and watch it at this finale moment, the pinnacle of it coming onto the runway and seeing it come to life. Someone has worked so hard on that, it's their first time seeing someone wearing it and it actually coming to life on someone's body, so I feel special to witness that."
What is your ideal getting-ready set-up?
"My ideal set-up is dressing gown, a surplus of coffee, lots of coffee, and a film. My favourite go-to is Paper Moon. I think it's such a good film, I've watched it many times with my full attention but I can also watch it while it's on in the background. When I was younger, I used to love doing prosthetic makeup, like cuts and stuff, and I used to love doing that. I'm not sure if it was some kind of excuse, though, just so I could spend hours in my bedroom watching films."
When do you feel most beautiful?
"I feel most beautiful when I like my outfit. I always think of outfits from my own wardrobe, then I put them on, and if I don't like it I'm taking it off immediately and trying again because there's nothing worse than going out with an outfit that you don't feel good in. So clothes make me feel really beautiful. And then obviously, when I'm with my family and friends, lounging around, doing nothing, that's probably when I feel most beautiful."
Fashion has a reputation for being frivolous, but why does what we wear matter?
"I really think it matters. I think you're always telling a story, even if you 'don't care about fashion', then you're still telling a story. That's a story in itself, you're telling us something about yourself. I think as a society we function on having stereotypes and trying to guess a person before you interact with them. We work on preconceived ideas, and fashion is one of the biggest things that we look for as soon as someone walks in, what someone is wearing. It doesn't have to be like, the latest pair of shoes, or whatever it may be. You're telling a story, so I think it's very important."
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