Nicola Coughlan Is In Full Bloom In A Dramatic Red Carpet Cape

Nicola Coughlan, the crown jewel of Bridergton‘s third season, recently told W that her latest press tour “felt like it was time to take up space as a leading lady and dress for the moment.” Well, last night, the Irish actress continued her main character era with a red carpet look that would surely satisfy the tastes of Penelope Featherington.

Coughlan stepped out in Toronto on Monday evening for the Canadian premiere of the hit Netflix show’s third season. She commanded attention on the red carpet in a romantic look from Sara Mrad’s spring 2024 couture collection. Coughlan matched the wall of flowers that backdropped her, wearing a lavender strapless number and a crimson petal-like cape. Her mini dress featured intricate ruching throughout that created tons of texture play especially near the bodice and towards the bottom of the skirt. Coughlan’s cape brought her premiere outfit in an even more formal direction, sitting atop the actress’s shoulders and then cascading into a lengthy train behind her. For glam, Coughlan went with dewy skin, a nude lip, and an updo before topping everything off with sculptural gold earrings and metallic sandal heels.

As has become custom throughout the Bridergton season three press tour, Coughlan later met up with her co-star and love interest Luke Newton on the red carpet—fans have adoringly labeled the duo with the nickname “Polin.” The actor, who plays Colin Bridgerton in the series, stayed classic in a relax pinstripe suit that he paired with a blue button down and black dress shoes.

Coughlan’s Penelope Featherington has undergone quite the transformation throughout the first half of season three after her identity as Lady Whistledown was exposed in the prior season. “There are genuinely things in every single episode that I’m really excited for fans to see,” Coughlan explained recently, adding “I know that sounds really vague, but it almost feels like it’s eight separate movies, in a sense.”

The actress continued, “Each episode has a distinct storyline and happens at a fast pace. There’s a part of me that’s really excited for the fans to see things from the books. It was exciting to bring those to the screen knowing that people have loved the books for over 20 years and have read them for so long. So those scenes, like the carriage scene, I’m so excited for them to see.”