The New Lord of the Rings Crew Already Has Some Budding Style Stars

Amazon has kept The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power under lock and key in the years since it began developing the highly ambitious, billion-dollar prequel adaptation of the J. R. R. Tolkien franchise. And while there’s been little movement on the plot front, the actors behind the lead characters are starting to become familiar in the lead-up to the first episode’s September 2 release. Tuesday night’s world premiere at Lancaster Square in London saw the cast showcase their personal styles on a red carpet that paid homage to the five realms of Middle Earth where the show takes place: the Elven capital Lindon, the Dwarven realm Khazad-dûm; the island kingdom Númenor, the Harfoots’ Wilderlands, and the Southlands, world of Man.

Some also referenced the series via their ensembles for the evening—namely Morfydd Clark, who is following in Cate Blanchett’s footsteps by portraying Lady Galadriel. Those who’ve seen the original Peter Jackson trilogy are used to seeing the Elven noble looking ethereal in floaty white gowns, but from what we’ve seen so far, she spent a significant portion of her time in armor in the thousands of years prior (when Rings of Power is set). The Saint Maud star nodded to both versions of the beloved character by turning to Vivienne Westwood for a floor-length gown that had her covered in silver from head to toe.

Of all the actors in attendance, you’d think that Sophia Nomvete would be the one to go with metallics. Rather than channel her character Disa, a dwarven princess who can reliably be found covered in gold at Khazad-Dûm, the actor chose a voluminous bespoke Roksanda dress with a large train and exaggerated shoulders.

Ema Horvath—who plays Eärien, daughter of Lord Elendil—also went with a long train. She wore a black semi-sheer Elie Saab gown that had her covered in feathers and jewels.

Ian Blackburn went the boldest in a sheer paneled top that matched his pink eyeliner. We know next to nothing about his role in the series, but we’re going to guess whoever the New Zealander plays dresses a bit more conservatively.

Nazanin Boniadi followed in Horvath’s lead by dressing in Elie Saab, choosing a feathery couture dress and headpiece that had her looking worlds away from her character Bronwyn, a village healer.

Megan Richards’s character Poppy Proudfellow, a type of Hobbit known as a Harfoot, isn’t afraid to get dirty, but the English actor looked fit for a red carpet in a floral gown by Ashish.

Jackson’s last LOTR adaptations, the Hobbot film franchise, failed to appease Tolkien fans. Fortunately, Vanity Fair’s review of the first two episodes suggests that it just may have been worth it for Amazon to place its bets on what it was rumored to be the expensive TV series ever made.