A fresh face, a matching look

To say this is Alicia Vikander’s breakout year would be understating it. Vikander, from Sweden, recently received two Golden Globe nominations (as best actress in a drama in The Danish Girl and best supporting actress for playing a killer robot in Ex Machina) and seems likely to get an Oscar nomination for The Danish Girl.

But the fashion world is also swooning for Vikander, 27, with her balletic grace and fresh European taste. She is a newly hired face of Louis Vuitton and recently appeared on the cover of Vogue.

“Her general style is very European, which is timeless, effortless and understated,” said her stylist, Victoria Sekrier, a model turned editorial stylist who took on Vikander as her first celebrity client about a year ago. “We first met at a friend’s Christmas drinks party,” Sekrier said, adding with a laugh, “You know how it is, quite randomly.”

Though Vikander does admire a clean, minimal line, Sekrier said, there’s also a bohemian side to the actress that comes out particularly in the warmer months.

She loves ethereal pieces like a layered blush Stella McCartney dress she wore to a May photo call in Italy for The Man from U.N.C.L.E. “It was feminine but not girlie,” Sekrier said.

Another boho choice: an off-shoulder maroon knit dress by the indie designer Barbara Casaola that Vikander wore to the “Steve Jobs” premiere in October.

But timeless doesn’t mean boring. Witness a crisp white Rosetta Getty crop top and matching structured culottes Vikander wore to a Comic-Con party last summer. “The culotte is probably one of Alicia’s favourite silhouettes,” Sekrier said. “We stick to things she loves, and we do repeat those cuts, but in a different way. It’s sticking to what works without being a slave to it.”

For another appearance for U.N.C.L.E. in August, Vikander added a touch of glitzy dazzle courtesy of Proenza Schouler. The cut of the dress was demure, but the contrasting fabrications were not, making it “edgy but not unfriendly,” Sekrier said. “We look for something a bit unusual or interesting — more fashion — but it’s a modern take on Hollywood and red carpet dressing.”

Come October, Vikander was back to her favoured culottes, this time in a loosely tailored ensemble by Victoria Beckham, for the Washington premiere of The Danish Girl. With a long-strap shoulder bag, she looked completely at ease and nearly casual, which, Sekrier said, is part of her red carpet magic.

But when it is time for full-on glamour, Vikander tends not to over-accessorise. She wore minimal jewellery at the Venice Film Festival in September with a nude-and-black flounce-sleeved Louis Vuitton gown, and again in December in a dark, strapless Vuitton gown with an embellished bodice for the British premiere of The Danish Girl.

“We never go for more than two pieces at a time: Maybe a bracelet or a cocktail ring, or a necklace by itself,” Sekrier said, adding that young actresses will often load on the baubles, which can lend an ageing effect.