Keira Knightley — the versatile actor whose work spans sports films, period dramas and romantic comedies — is one of Britain’s most underrated style heroines. A Chanel ambassador since the age of 21, Knightley is the embodiment of quintessential English style possessing an inherent bohemian sensibility often fused with dainty, refined designs harking back to the forties and fifties.
Having debuted in the industry at the age of 14, her career has spanned more than 20 years and include two Academy Award, BAFTA and three Golden Globe Awards nominations. Knightley’s style evolution as gone hand in hand with her development as an actor, with the Brit now having a penchant for vintage inspired garments, like that worn when receiving her OBE, frequently designed by Chanel or British brands including Erdem and Mulberry.
A pioneer of the early oughts, Knightley was an enthusiast of the halter neck, the draping V-neck silhouette and anything and everything slinky in her youth. Her style was a broad mixture of Indie sleaze — during its original peak — alongside tailored gowns accentuating her figure. She made the bare essentials of early 2000s British sportswear appear the height of street style in Bend It Like Beckham and had every woman searching for an emerald green gown for their next formal event after sauntering on screen adorned in Jacqueline Durran’s creation in the cinematic adaptation of Atonement. In the 2010’s, we’ve seen her embrace gowns evoking prairie motifs, Victorian collars and billowing silhouettes most frequently at awards ceremonies or front row at a Chanel runway.
In a promotional shot at the Pirates of the Caribbean premiere, 2006.
In the iconic green dress from Atonement (2007).
Attending the 2015 Academy Awards.
At the 2015 Golden Globe Awards.
In Bend It Like Beckham (2002).
In a promotional clip for Coco Mademoiselle, 2014.
At Buckingham Palace receiving her OBE, 2018.
Attending the premiere of The Imitation Game (2014).
Attending the 2020 Chanel Cruise showing.
In Erdem at the 2015 Screen Actors Guild Awards
