Florence Pugh knows how to turn heads on a red carpet thanks to bold, colorful fashion choices, and in an interview with fellow actress Jodie Turner-Smith for Elle UK's October issue, she opened up on how those choices reflect her comfort her in her own skin.
"I think I've always been interested in wearing loud clothing," she told Turner-Smith, adding, "I've always loved color. I've always wanted to be bold and make a bit of a scene -- I don't think that's gone away... I've become more confident in the last few years, and I think that's hugely linked to the clothes I've been wearing. The more you can enjoy it, the more [people] can see that you're enjoying it."
Pugh exemplified this joy -- and her ability to make a scene -- when she stunned in a bright pink Valentino gown last year that featured a sheer top with nothing underneath at the designer's couture show in Rome.
"When everything went down with the Valentino pink dress a year ago, my nipples were on display through a piece of fabric, and it really wound people up," she said.
"It's the freedom that people are scared of; the fact I'm comfortable and happy," she continued. "Keeping women down by commenting on their bodies has worked for a very long time... Unfortunately, we've become so terrified of the human body that we can't even look at my two little cute nipples behind fabric in a way that isn't sexual."
MORE: Dua Lipa covers Vogue France with blonde brows: Talks music, having kids, and moreThe actress has been open in the past on public scrutiny of women's bodies. In an Instagram post on July 10, 2022, following her appearance at the Valentino show and the subsequent fallout, she wrote, "What's been interesting to watch and witness is just how easy it is for men to totally destroy a woman's body, publicly, proudly, for everyone to see. You even do it with your job titles and work emails in your bio..?"
"It isn't the first time and certainly won't be the last time a woman will hear what's wrong with her body by a crowd of strangers, what's worrying is just how vulgar some of you men can be," she wrote at the time.
Speaking with Turner-Smith this week, Pugh explained why she's been so outspoken about her body and women's bodies in general.
"I speak the way I do about my body because I'm not trying to hide the cellulite on my thigh or the squidge in between my arm and my boob: I would much rather lay it all out," she said.
She added, "We need to keep reminding everybody that there is more than one reason for women's bodies [to exist]."