“I texted the photo to my mom and my best friend and they were both like, that's it,” the Emmy nominee tells Vanity Fair of her couture look.
“It's one of those things where you put it on and you just kind of know,” Alexandra Daddario tells me of the pearl-embellished Dior gown The White Lotus actor wore to Monday night’s Emmys. “I think my stylist [Emma Jade Morrison] actually was looking at a different dress and she was like, ‘This is one of my favorite dresses of all time. It's amazing.’”
A few days before the semi-sheer look from the French fashion house’s spring 2022 couture collection landed the actor on best-dressed lists far and wide, she spoke to Vanity Fair from her Los Angeles home about how excited she was for people to see it.
“I texted the photo to my mom and my best friend and they were both like, that's it,” she says. “So, that was really wonderful too, to have your instinct say, this is the dress. And then you text it to the people that you trust and with the other one and everyone unanimously is like, that's the one. I feel really confident about it. I feel beautiful in it.”
To complement Daddario’s neutral-colored gown, makeup Lottie Stannard opted for bright, dewy skin and a bold pout that she created using Dior Lip Contour in 999 and transfer-proof Rouge Dior Forever in 999.
“We wanted to create a modern Hollywood look with a bright red lip to pop against the beige of her stunning Dior dress,” Stannard explains. “I kept the eyes more natural and focused on skin and lips to make a strong statement.”
It’s been a year full of opportunities for Daddario, who married producer Andrew Form in New Orleans in June in a pleated silk wool gown with lace appliqué and tulle watteau by New York City-based bridal brand Danielle Frankel, to lean into high fashion.
“I'm an actor and I like fashion, but my main concern was always being a better actress and the auditions and the work. I think as I've gotten older, more confident in myself and my body and in wearing dresses and exploring fashion where I am willing to embrace it. I think it was a little bit of fear when I was younger of doing it wrong. So I just kind of decided to go, oh, whatever about a lot of things. Now I just feel like I'm sort of like everyone says, when you're in your thirties as a woman, you feel the most confident and I do feel that way a little bit. I feel really lucky. I have an amazing stylist and my instincts are better.”
Just a few weeks after her wedding, Emmy nominations were announced and Daddario learned she earned a nod for outstanding supporting actress in a limited or anthology series or movie in The White Lotus, for her role as Rachel Patton, a newlywed whose relationship begins to unravel on her honeymoon.
“Because of the Emmy nomination and the work I've been doing, I have access to different kinds of dresses to wear on the carpet. And that's totally thrilling because I feel like a princess whenever I get to go to these things,” she says.
The HBO series won five awards during the Emmys broadcast on Monday, including best limited series and supporting actor (Murray Bartlett), supporting actress (Jennifer Coolidge), writing (Mike White), and directing (White) for a limited series.
“I couldn't have been luckier than to work with [White] and be part of something where he basically showcased all these actors at their best and that's all you can ask for as an actor is to come onto something where the project just allows you to showcase the best you can be to a large audience,” she says.
With Season 2 of The White Lotus just weeks away (it’ll premiere on October 15), Daddario is just as thrilled about the show as all those Emmy voters. “I've heard a little bit about it that I'm sure no one should be telling me,” she says. “So I won't speak out of turn, but I think it's gonna be amazing.”
