Klara and the Sun Premiere: Jenna Ortega's Custom Torlowei — Plus Amy Adams' Sculptural Georges Chakra and Florence Pugh's Winged Rodarte at BFI London

Taika Waititi's Kazuo Ishiguro adaptation premiered at the BFI London Film Festival on October 15, 2026, with its stars, and several supporters, bringing out some of the week's most sculptural dressing.

Klara and the Sun, Taika Waititi's screen adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's novel, had its world premiere at the BFI London Film Festival on October 15, 2026. Stars Jenna Ortega and Amy Adams led the red carpet, joined by Natasha Lyonne, director Waititi, his wife Rita Ora, and a surprise guest appearance from Florence Pugh, who was not in the film but turned up to support the cast anyway.

Ortega's dress was built specifically for the occasion: a custom Torlowei Tokoni slip gown in honey-gold silk satin, with thin straps and a long, narrow skirt ending in a small train. Black Leavers lace trimmed the neckline and bodice, with loose lace florals scattered down the skirt, and the back was left bare. She paired it with a matching mustard-gold Torlowei lace cap, worn like a headscarf, styled by Enrique Melendez. The gold and yellow tones were a direct nod to the film's title.

Amy Adams wore a Georges Chakra Fall 2026 Couture gown: a black column silhouette with a sculptural, off-the-shoulder ivory neckline built from folded, sweeping fabric. Stylist Petra Flannery paired the piece with an updo, leaving the neckline as the look's sole focal point rather than competing with loose hair.

Florence Pugh, dressing for her second BFI London red carpet of the week after her own premiere two days earlier, wore a Rodarte Spring 2026 gown in pale mint-green with a fitted, semi-sheer bodice and a V-neckline. Its defining feature was a pair of huge, sculptural sleeves rising from the shoulders like wings, covered in floral embroidery in coral pink, muted blue, silver and darker tones with beading and sequins throughout. Stylist Rebecca Corbin-Murray finished the look with Maria Tash diamond earrings.

Rita Ora went gothic: a fitted black lace gown with a structured, flared hem, paired with a sculptural headpiece shaped with horn-like, spiralling forms that framed her face. No designer credit for the piece has been confirmed through a reliable source as of publication. Her husband, director Waititi, wore a classic black tuxedo with a white shirt alongside her.

The reviews that followed the premiere were considerably less kind than the red carpet. The Guardian called the film "a sentimental and laborious mess," Deadline's Damon Wise described it as "curiously flat," and The Independent headlined its review "yet another misfire for Jenna Ortega." Whatever the film's reception, the fashion at its premiere — four genuinely different approaches to formal dressing, from custom couture to a flared gothic gown — is likely to outlast the reviews in most people's memory of the night.

Original coverage: Klara and the Sun Premiere: Red Carpet at BFI London