When Lucy Boynton and I connect a few hours before the Feb. 11 premiere of the series A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story, the actress's red carpet look still has a few question marks. She and Chanel makeup artist Tyron Machhausen hadn't yet decided on the thick strokes of Noir Intense eyeliner and Enchanted Night eyeshadow worthy of a Black Swan performance at the Met. Nor had she and hairstylist Rebekah Forecast landed on the tousled twist with parted curtain bangs, placed for a pair of 18k Chanel High Jewelry Soleil Ganse earrings to catch the light of the cameras. But she knew she wanted a grunge twist to counterbalance the retro Metiers d'art look she'd screenshotted and sent to stylist Leith Clark the minute it walked the runway in Hangzhou, China, last December.
"I immediately fell in love with it," Boynton says of the black tweed jacket and mini skirt, accented with hundreds of pink pearls. "I always kind of let [Clark] work her magic in terms of what we select as options, and this was the first and only look that we ended up trying. As soon as I put it on, it fit like a glove and just felt like everything that we'd been trying to encapsulate."
"Everything" refers to a 1950s-meets-2025 approach to styling on the Cruel Love press tour. Boynton plays Ruth Ellis, a nightclub owner who made headlines in 1955 on the conviction of murdering her lover, David Blakely, and subsequently being sentenced to execution—the last woman in U.K. history to meet this terrible fate.
The story and script hitting Britbox on Feb. 17 are dark, to say the least. Boynton brings complexity and depth to the role of a woman who history thinks it understands and similarly captures her nuances in a wardrobe that's both contemporary and vintage-inspired. Hence, the Chanel matching set and coordinating Coco Crush jewelry.
"I'm always able to find that linear connection with Chanel, where the house codes feel so respectful to the past—and then there's always a sense of youthfulness and modernity to the silhouettes," Boynton explains. "So this, tonight, feels like the kind of epitome of that." The heavy tweed and pink beading bring the nostalgic nod to Ellis's cinched-in dresses worn as the manager of The Little Club; the flip-cut mini skirt and boots bring the "cool, contemporary twist.
Boynton adds that the palette couldn't reflect her character's persona more. "The fact that it's black, but these pink beading details catch the light, feels like a great little kind of glimmer of Ruth."
Bridging the past and present through costumes on set—and in a lesser sense, on the red carpet—is one of Boynton's favorite parts of the job. "It's such a great exercise to untether yourself from your idea of you and your identity and what you feel comfortable and confident in, because you exit yourself and into the headspace and instincts of the character," she says. "You do abandon this preconceived idea about what suits you, and it's really liberating."
Playing Ellis allowed Boynton to test-drive traditional silhouettes of the '50s, like tea-length dresses with cinched waists (and often, coordinating hats or gloves). While she appreciated how the garments made her "hold herself differently"—a physical way of getting into character—she prefers the breathability of her cropped jacket and skirt IRL. Vintage and ladylike definitely doesn't have to mean uncomfortable, and Boynton points out the fashion history to prove it.
"What I appreciate about Chanel, and even their couture and everything, is how it always pays homage to Gabrielle Chanel's intentions that women should be able to be mobile and feel free in these looks."
Boynton describes her on-screen counterpart as someone who was aware of how she was perceived: first as a woman running a business, and later as a woman on (very public) trial. Delving into Ruth Ellis's use of fashion while in the spotlight has helped the actress understand her own outlook on fashion more, albeit without the life-and-death stakes. "Ever since getting to work with my stylist Leith, I've enjoyed the process much more," she says. "I have felt less of a pressure to get it quote-unquote right and celebrate more of my own sense of style and how I want to feel."
Her latest project may have a noir feel, but it's brought out something light in Boynton—and the historical figure she plays. "I've really enjoyed finding the looks that obviously I feel very empowered and comfortable and confident in, but that also Ruth would have loved to wear as well."
'A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story' airs Feb. 17 on Britbox.
