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BACKSTAGE AT DIOR CRUISE 2027, SOPHIE WILDE REFLECTS ON HER ENDURING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE MAISON, AND WHAT’S AHEAD
WORDS BY SARAH NOONAN
Sophie Wilde still remembers the first time she met Jonathan Anderson. The two were backstage at one of his runway shows in Paris, and for Wilde — already a longtime admirer of his work — the moment felt intensely surreal. “I was nervous because I’m such a big fan,” she tells ELLE Australia’s editor Jessica Bailey, laughing now at the memory. “And he’s just the biggest sweetheart.”
Inside the presentation of Dior’s Cruise 2027 collection in California — staged against the cinematic glow of Los Angeles County Museum of Art and soundtracked to Air’s “Sexy Boy” — the Australian actor looked entirely at home in head-to-toe Dior. In many ways, she has been for some time now. Wilde’s relationship with Anderson stretches back to 2023, years before his arrival at the French Maison became one of fashion’s most watched creative shifts. She recalls following his work closely during that period, and her familiarity with his design language is visible in the way she speaks about his latest collection.
Dior Darling Sophie Wilde Is Set For A Major Year On Screen
STEFANI KEENAN/GETTY IMAGES
Anderson’s Cruise debut for Dior carried many of the signatures that have come to define his work. Old Hollywood silhouettes sat alongside embellishment that felt deliberately unruly, while fluid eveningwear contrasted more structured tailoring, with surfaces shifting between sheen, texture and shine. Wilde, unsurprisingly, already has her favourites. “There was this amazing gown… a black sequin sparkly number,” she says, immediately lighting up at the image of it. “I literally turned around to my agent and was like, ‘I need [it].’”
Even as her work accelerates, she still speaks with the openness and unaffected warmth that has marked her relationship with ELLE Australia since fronting the magazine’s 2024 relaunch issue and becoming its inaugural Next Gen Idol award recipient the following year. It’s somewhat disarming coming from a star whose slate of upcoming projects signal a big, potentially career-defining, year ahead. And while Wilde remains careful not to say too much about what’s still in motion, the list alone suggests its scale.
“I’ve got an A24 film coming out,” she says casually, before mentioning Watch Dogs, the Ubisoft adaptation in which she stars alongside fellow Australian Markella Kavanagh. “I also have this incredible film called Digger coming out in October,” which, might we add, just happens to be fronted by Tom Cruise. “So [there are] kind of a few in the works.” Yeah, just a few!
“THERE WAS THIS AMAZING GOWN… A BLACK SEQUIN SPARKLY NUMBER.”
– SOPHIE WILDE
“JONATHAN IS JUST THE BIGGEST SWEETHEART.”
– SOPHIE WILDE
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