Olive Gray Champions Arora Nielson at BFI London Film Festival

Olive Gray attended the It Gets Worse screening during the 2026 BFI London Film Festival at the Prince Charles Cinema, wearing a look that deserves attention for more reasons than its unusual silhouette.

Olive Gray wearing a blue, yellow and grey sculptural Arora Nielson dress with black buckle pumps at the 'It Gets Worse' screening during the BFI London Film Festival. — Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images for BFI

The actress selected a design by Arora Nielson, an emerging designer and Central Saint Martins graduate, from her Fall 2026 collection. And this is exactly the kind of fashion choice I love seeing on the red carpet. Established fashion houses already have considerable celebrity exposure, so it’s refreshing when someone uses their platform to introduce us to a designer we might not otherwise discover.

The exaggerated shoulders, sculptural padded hips and blue-and-yellow pattern make this a particularly distinctive piece. Arora Nielson’s Central Saint Martins graduate collection draws inspiration from growing up in North London, incorporating jacquard knitwear and trompe-l’œil effects. I love that there’s a personal story behind a design that already has so much character.

For a designer at this stage of their career, having a piece worn at a major film festival is significant. It introduces their work to a much wider audience, potentially attracting the attention of stylists, editors and future clients.

And what I particularly appreciate is that Olive hasn’t chosen something safe simply because she’s wearing an emerging designer. She’s embraced the most unusual aspects of the design, which makes this collaboration all the more worthwhile.