Luke Newton is in his Old Hollywood feels

Luke Newton is in Los Angeles for the SAG Awards. "The fans online have reminded me that this is the first time I've attended a big awards ceremony in this city," Newton shared via a phone call with the Gentleman's Journal ahead of the 2025 ceremony, where Bridgerton was up for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. "I love Los Angeles. Living in London, where it gets dark at 4pm at this time of the year, can be difficult, but here it's sunny and the vibes are great. But yeah, I was feeling quite chilled about everything and then I realised this is my first Hollywood red carpet, which I hadn't thought of!"

That being said, Newton is well prepared. He's ready for the LA heat of an awards ceremony, and it's in part down to his co-stars. "Johnny [Bailey] and Luke [Thompson], who play my brothers, gave me the heads up on how crazy this can all get. My life has changed pretty drastically since season one of Bridgerton."

But he's prepared in the costume department too. In the short space of five years, since he first joined the Bridgerton cast, the 32-year-old actor has become a bit of a pro when it comes to red carpet styling. Whether it's the press tour for season three of Bridgerton, which lasted a whopping six months and catapulted his name to household status, or any one of the events that he gets a coveted invite to, Newton has been consistent with his grown-up sense of style.

Working with his stylist Holly White (who also dresses Joe Locke and Corey Mylchreest) he's fine-tuned his looks to reflect what he actually likes wearing. "I admire the 1950s style that you'd have seen on James Dean and Paul Newman," Newton says, ahead of an exclusive photoshoot for Gentleman's Journal in his hotel. "All that Old Hollywood way of dressing. Elvis Presley has always been a big one for me, particularly for the high- waisted trousers that he'd always wear. I was actually trying to find a reference image of Elvis wearing something similar to what I'm wearing to the SAG Awards. It feels very him."

And the Elvis Presley inspiration tracks. To the SAG Awards Newton wore a black Dolce & Gabbana suit, which carried exaggerated peak lapels and had an asymmetric, shawl-like scarf that fell at each side. He opted for a black vest (quite Elvis, quite sexy), which was tucked into his signature high-waisted trousers. Sparkling Lagos brooches and a TAG Heuer Carrera timepiece completes the look. "When it comes to press tours, for example the massive one we did for Bridgerton, I choose to wear things that are a little more bold, but for tonight I wanted to be a part of the ensemble, as we're here together, so I've gone for something a little more restrained and muted. I wanted to have something that felt effortless, but elevated."

Getting dressed up is something Newton really enjoys, which is fortunate considering it's a massive part of his job, and not just for the awards ceremonies and press tours. For the Netflix and Shondaland hit Bridgerton, his character Colin's regency costume was the order of the day, every day. But, Newton is glad that his style has loosened up as Colin has become the leading man. "The evolution of my character's costume in season three has changed," he says on reflection of the buttoned-up velvet jackets and oversized cravats he wore in season one. "Previously I remember previously feeling quite stiff. It all felt quite uptight. And then getting to explore a more relaxed version of my character in season three and not having the ties done all the way up and playing around with open collars. I love getting to play with that."

In his downtime, Newton partial to styling himself out in outfits that you might've seen on a Nineties-era Brad Pitt. He's also found he's keen on a vintage find or two, which is what aligns him with Los Angeles, where you can find some of the best retro wear at a fraction of the price of the stuff you'd find on East London's Brick Lane. "I love finding the pieces that you can never really find anywhere else, and while I've been in Los Angeles I've grabbed some really good retro basketball T-shirts." He explains that his passion for vintage comes down, much like with his choice of tailoring, to fit and silhouette. "I am really into the way vintage T-shirts fall, and how jeans fit," he shares. "I got some really good Levi's jeans out here. Probably from the 1950s. They're almost perfect. Almost! I haven't ever found the perfect jeans yet, but I'm determined."

And it's a good job he enjoys getting dressed up, because after the SAG Awards he has a few days to hit the vintage treasure troves of LA for the perfect jeans, as well as attend meetings, and then it's back to work. He's already wrapped Martin Owen's upcoming science fiction film White Mars, but Bridgerton is beckoning him back. "We're filming season four of Bridgerton at the moment, so later this week I'll be back in West London on set, and back in my regency costume."

Photography by Parker Burr

Styling by Holly White

Grooming by Melissa Dezarate

Now read an interview with Sagar Radia about the Critics' Choice Awards

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