Though she’s presently most well-known for her work as an actress and singer, Suki Waterhouse’s career began in the modeling world when she was scouted at the age of 16. A 2011 Marks & Spencer lingerie campaign made Waterhouse an industry name in England, where the London-born up-and-comer already counted models like Cara Delevingne, Georgia May Jagger and Clara Paget as childhood friends.
Over the next decade, Waterhouse walked the runway for fashion houses like Balenciaga and Miu Miu, but it was her partnership with Burberry that helped to give her international recognition. Starring alongside Delevingne in the iconic British fashion house’s fall 2014 campaign, Waterhouse quickly added supporting roles onscreen to her resume, appearing in films like Love, Rosie and The Divergent Series: Insurgent.
From the beginning, Waterhouse’s red carpet looks included a mix of fresh-off-the-runway designs and custom creations—often favoring bright colors and slightly unconventional silhouettes. That approach translated to her off-duty style too, where Waterhouse’s ability to make polished pieces feel completely effortless quickly elevated her to It girl status.
“I’m always able to look at the eras and the moments that I’ve been through with clothes and have a good laugh at all the mistakes that I’ve made,” Waterhouse told Vogue Australia of being fearless when it comes to experimenting with fashion. But one thing that has remained consistent is her penchant for a retro-inspired look. “The way they’d step out at a party in the ‘60s was just unbelievable; all the vibrant colors and tiny little dresses,” Waterhouse has said of style icons like Jane Birkin and Pattie Boyd. Incorporating retro elements into her own look undoubtedly helped Waterhouse land a starring role in the Amazon Prime series, Daisy Jones & The Six, which followed the rise of a fictional rock band in the 1970s. The years-long preparation for the 2023 show ultimately pushed Waterhouse to release her first album (she had debuted her first single in 2016), leading to another place to experiment with fashion: onstage. When Waterhouse is in performance mode, the red carpet-style full-length gowns and casual dresses she’s been known to wear are replaced with leather pants and crop tops or bodysuits—almost always with a bit of sparkle involved.
From her first red carpets and fashion shows to establishing herself as an actress and singer-songwriter, take a look back at some of Waterhouse’s best style moments.
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Waterhouse’s first Burberry campaign was still a few years away, but the model became a regular among the fashion house’s front row as early as 2012. At the showing of the British luxury brand’s spring 2013 womenswear show, Waterhouse appeared to channel some of her ‘60s style icons with a chartreuse leather trench coat that she styled with oversized sunglasses, winged eyeliner and her signature fringed hairstyle worn in a bouncy blowout.
For the BAFTA Los Angeles awards, Waterhouse took a prim and proper approach in a baby-pink Emilia Wickstead gown with a mock-neck and high-low hemline. The dress, which was part of the London-based design house’s spring 2014 collection, was trimmed in tiny pink pearls, and Waterhouse paired the look with matching pink pumps, a polished low knot and soft, rosy makeup.
Reflecting on her red carpet........