Florence Pugh Puts a Butter Yellow Spin on Period Dressing

Florence Pugh kicked off her East of Eden press tour this week in an archival Rodarte set that balanced sheer risk-taking with period romance.

At a special screening for the Netflix series on September 15, the Oscar-nominated actor stepped out in a heavily adorned butter-yellow ensemble from Rodarte’s spring 2017 show. The skin-baring set featured a frilly cropped button-up blouse and a high-waisted skirt with ruffles billowing at the bottom. It was full of ethereal embellishments—including tonal polka dots, winding stem embroidery, and three-dimensional floral appliqués. For some added edge, Pugh leaned into the design’s skin-baring sheerness and left the front mostly undone. Styled by Rebecca Corbin-Murray, she paired the look with silver pointy-toe heels and matching icy eyeshadow.

The ornate ensemble is apt for Pugh’s upcoming role. East of Eden, a seven-part adaptation of John Steinbeck’s famed 1952 novel of the same name, takes place from the 1800s through the 1910s. The generational drama follows Pugh as Cathy Ames, the story’s complicated, corset-clad antihero. Set in California’s Salinas Valley, East of Eden leans heavily into nature symbolism. Fittingly, Pugh picked a look from a runway that did the same.

Rodarte spring 2017 embraced botanical imagery—specifically long-stemmed flowers—with a subtle period-dressing bent. There were high collars reminiscent of Elizabethan ruffs, ornate Victorian shoulders, and frothy ruffles that added a regal opulence to each ensemble, while whimsical florals were a recurring motif.

Pugh, who has an affinity for extravagant two-piece sets and gauzy sheer layers, is a longtime fan of Rodarte’s romantic aesthetic. With the East of Eden press tour underway—the show officially begins streaming on October 1—the star will surely continue nodding to her character’s infamy through risqué red-carpet looks.