Carey Mulligan’s Minimalism Embraces an Unexpected Color

Many people approach minimalist fashion with a strictly “naturals only” color palette policy. From Michaela Coel to Anne Hathaway, both adapters and champions of the style movement have opted to mix shades like black, white, and gray together with elevated hints of texture. However, as Carey Mulligan proved at Beef’s latest season 2 red carpet in New York City, a lack of maximalism doesn’t equal a lack of color.

Mulligan arrived to the Netflix drama’s screening at Regal Union Square in a monochrome orange ensemble from Colleen Allen’s fall 2026 collection. Her look, styled by minimalist maestro Danielle Goldberg, featured a long-sleeve velvet shirt with gathered trim and a maxi-length silk slip skirt. Both pieces’ rich textures gave the surprisingly warm, bright color a luxe feel, further elevated with a simple pair of gleaming diamond stud earrings.

The orange hues of Mulligan’s ensemble proved especially surprising, as the actor often opts for head-to-toe neutrals or single-tone ensembles. However, the stark, smooth finishes of both her top and bottom still aligned with her nonchalant flavor of minimalist red carpet style. Indeed, it showed a progression in her previous ventures in colorful fashion over the years, which has ranged from a hint of Schiaparelli’s shocking pink to shimmering yellow-gold Valentino.

Mulligan’s outing was her latest appearance for Beef, in which she stars as Lindsay Crane-Martin, a troubled interior designer and wife to Oscar Isaac’s antagonistic country club manager Josh. Charles Melton, Cailee Spaeny, Youn Yuh-jung, and Seoyeon Jang round out the cast of the show’s second season, which is now streaming.

The star’s orange ensemble also continued her recent trajectory of modern, textural dressing during Beef’s press tour, including blossoming Dries Van Noten by Julien Klausner. It remains to be seen if the shift in vibrance will continue, but Mulligan is always one to make a standout appearance on the red carpet.