You might know Gwendoline Christie as Brienne of Tarth from Game of Thrones, one of Westeros’ most fearsome swordmasters on the epic fantasy series. But when she isn’t ferociously defending Arya and Sansa Stark, Christie trades in her plate armour for a very different wardrobe - one which features plenty of couture.
Christie is consistently one of the most stylish women on the red carpet, and off-screen works as a model signed to Kate Moss’s titular agency, which has proved a lucrative side hustle. (Kate Moss kick-started her modelling career when she referred Christie to her former agent in 2012, telling her she "just knew it would work".)
Over the years, Christie has landed major campaigns and walked the runway for Miu Miu and Vivienne Westwood, brands which make a regular appearance in her wardrobe.
Christie's love affair with fashion started years ago when she was a teenager. She told ES Magazine her discovery of Alexander McQueen around that time was “earth-shattering, it just felt like so many of the things I loved coming together and exploding”.
Christie's red carpet style also has a helping hand from her designer boyfriend Giles Deacon, who has dressed her over the years for some of her biggest events.
She told ES Magazine, “I don’t think I’ll ever stop being in awe of my partner’s colossal talent. As a designer and as a human being. I mean it. I don’t ever talk about him. But I really mean that.”
As the years (and the HBO seasons) have gone by, Christie’s wardrobe has gradually evolved. Speaking to The Telegraph, she said, “I wear armour and I wear couture – both fascinate me.”
Read on for more of Christie's biggest style moments:
Gwendoline Christie's Game of Thrones premiere dress
When Christie stepped out for the Game of Thrones season eight premiere, the Internet collectively gasped at her ensemble. The actress had returned to one of her favourite brands, Iris Van Herpen, for a couture masterpiece that reflected the show's song of ice and fire theme, covered in a print of flames and smoke.
The dress was from Herpen’s recent Spring 2019 couture collection, Shift Souls. On the brand's official Instagram account, the dress was described the dress as “vaporous clouds in motion” and Christie worked the gown for all it was worth - throwing her arms up like a very powerful butterfly.
This isn't the first time Christie has made headlines with an Iris Van Herpen creation, as years ago she modelled in the designer's SS16 show. The show - which was part fashion collection, part art installation - saw her lie down in the middle of the runway as a dress was 3D-printed onto her body in real time.
Gwendoline Christie at fashion week with Tomo Koizumi
In February one last-minute fashion show became the talk of New York Fashion Week. Japanese costume designer Tomo Koizumi, who was discovered on Instagram just a month earlier, sent some of Hollywood and fashion’s biggest names down the runway draped in the dreamiest ruffled gowns.
Christie’s dress was the masterpiece of the show, as she closed the collection decked out in a gigantic trailing rainbow gown.
One Instagram user shared a video and wrote, “If Gweyndolyn [sic] Christie can make it up this staircase in this giant gown, you can make it through anything.”
Gwendoline Christie wearing her partner Giles Deacon's clothing
Christie has been in a relationship with designer Giles Deacon since 2013 and regularly wears his clothing. She called him one of her “favourite designers” and explained to The Telegraph, “He has two of my favourite attributes in artists: wild imagination and technical rigour. [His designs] can be practical, otherworldly, sculptural and mind-bending, but you always feel celebrated as a woman when you wear them.
"Their confidence somehow increases yours," she continued. "It’s quite a power for a designer to have. His clothes have personalities.”
Christie has worn many of Deacon’s pieces to some of her most high profile events, including the 2018 Golden Globes, the European premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and 2015’s Screen Actors Guild Awards. Deacon called her a “fantastic muse”.
He said, “She’s a character herself, and her trail of various characters is brilliant – she’s pretty transformative, which is always an interesting thing from a designer’s point of view.”
Gwendoline Christie in Miu Miu
Gwendoline Christie and Miu Miu go way back - and it’s all apparently thanks to supermodel Kate Moss. Speaking to ES Magazine, Christie revealed Moss believed in her talent as a model so much that she actually introduced the Thrones star to her own agent in 2012. It marked a milestone in Christie’s sartorial love affair with Miu Miu, which has seen her walk runways and front campaigns for the brand since then.
In 2018, Christie was unveiled as one of Miu Miu’s AW19 campaign models and also took to the runway to show off the Cruise 2019 collection as Paris Fashion Week.
Gwendoline Christie in Vivienne Westwood
Christie is something of a sartorial dark horse, and while she’s recently garnered the attention of numerous luxury fashion houses, one of the earliest designers to fall in love with her was Vivienne Westwood. After she met the designer at one of her London shows, Westwood said she was "perfect" and asked her to not only walk the runway in their unisex Gold Label AW15 show, but to also front the campaign.
The resulting pictures were glorious and ramped up her androgynous look in a shoot directed by Juergen Teller.
Unsurprisingly, the brand has become a staple in Christie’s wardrobe - with a memorable piece being the black sparkly jumpsuit she wore to the Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2017.
Christie said of working with the British brand, “It is so relevant for Vivienne Westwood to re-assert their activist mind-set and create a collection that takes us beyond our current gender stereotypes with beauty and intelligence.”
