“RELAXED, COMFORTABLE, SELF-POSSESSED”: KIM CATTRALL ON FASHION, CONFIDENCE AND DOING THINGS HER WAY
If I were being lazy, I could write about Kim Cattrall in the usual way: she’s glamorous, sparkles effortlessly and has survived Hollywood on her own terms (cue a collective swoon and a dozen pop culture references). I could (deep breath) sigh dramatically and assure you she is witty, charming and untouchable. She is, undoubtedly so, but clichés are boring. Kim Cattrall has never been boring.
Chatting with her only confirmed it. I spent some time with the Golden Globe winner in a light-filled London studio, surrounded by racks of sequined, beaded and audaciously colourful pieces. At 69, she is preparing for her latest venture as poster girl for Designers at Debenhams x Ashish, and the excitement she brings to fashion is contagious. “I met Ashish and his collection at the very same moment, and it was love at first sight,” she says of the New Delhi-born designer. “His incredibly bold designs and his warmth as a person struck me immediately. I knew I was in good hands, and I found him truly joyful. There’s an infectious energy in his work that instantly made me feel part of something special.”
Fashion has never been frivolous for Cattrall. Even years after her most famous TV role, she approaches style as personal expression, a mood booster and a way of inhabiting herself fully (yes, fashion can be deep if you do it right). “For me, slipping on a great outfit always comes down to confidence,” she says, running her hands over a glittering ruby-red gown. “When you’re wearing something you love and feel great in, the evening is already off to the right start. It makes you want to celebrate yourself.”
That instinct, to see clothes not just as decoration but as markers of life’s chapters, threads neatly through her career. Born in Liverpool and raised in Canada, she briefly returned to England as an ambitious teen before settling in the US, where her ascent in the early 1980s was anything but straightforward. Her roles in Porky’s, Big Trouble In Little China and, most fondly, Mannequin weren’t just stepping stones; they became touchstones, each etched in her memory and stitched into fabric.
“One of my most unforgettable style memories must be my first big fashion purchase, an Oscar De La Renta dream of a dress,” she recalls fondly. “I bought it for the press tour of Mannequin, and it truly became a companion through so many milestones. I wore it on talk shows, photo shoots, live appearances and even radio spots, you name it. I had it altered over the years to fit the times, and eventually, it made its final bow on an early episode of Sex And The City, when Samantha hosted her ‘I don’t have a baby’ party. That dress carried me through different eras of my life, evolving with me and reminding me that fashion can be a kind of living diary. I still miss it dearly.”
Boldness, she insists, is part of her DNA. At the Ace Awards, a gown she had borrowed from a designer, which arrived at her apartment unseen, included lace cut-outs “strategically placed in very daring spots”. She laughs. “Let’s just say it was a breezy, drafty night, and I received a lot more attention than I was used to. It was one of those fashion lessons in surrendering to the unexpected and owning it.” Duly noted.
Her imagination is fearless, too. If she could raid any wardrobe in history, it would have to belong to Cleopatra, she tells me knowingly. “She was said to have worn mirrored panels when she sailed down the Nile at sunset. Can you imagine how extraordinary that must have looked? Fashion as theatre, spectacle and power all in one. I think she truly understood the impact of clothing as a statement.” And yes, Cattrall would absolutely have pulled it off without a hair out of place.
Yet for all her boldness, her current philosophy is more subdued. When asked to describe herself, she tells me she is “relaxed, comfortable, self-possessed. That’s exactly where I am in my life. I’m less interested in proving anything and more focused on feeling authentic in what I wear. As Tilda Swinton once said, ‘We’ve got nothing to prove.’ I love that idea. Clothes should reflect confidence, not performance.”
Preparation is a ritual for the actor, and one she doesn’t take lightly. Before events, she grounds herself with music and moments alone, savouring the quietude and serenity before stepping into the glare. “It helps me enter the night with energy, but also with a sense of ease,” she explains. Music, tranquillity and solitude are her private trinity before public appearances. At this moment, the soundtrack of her life is Henry Mancini’s Lujon. “There’s something about its rhythm and atmosphere that feels like the soundtrack to my current chapter. It’s elegant, slightly playful and full of mood.”
And it is in these quiet, measured moments that her philosophy emerges in full: simplicity and authenticity over performance. This translates directly into her styling lexicon too. “The best style advice I’ve ever received is easy: ‘Less is more.’ It’s timeless. Whether you’re putting together a red carpet look or just getting dressed in the morning, restraint often makes the boldest statement.” A rule to live by, honestly.
And so, as I left the studio and the racks of fluoro-fuzzy coats and glossy sequins shimmered behind me, I realised something: clichés would never have worked here. Not with Kim Cattrall. She remains, as she started the day, and as this profile began, effortlessly, defiantly unboxable. Glamorous, yes. Witty, yes. Undeniably herself, always (and somehow, still capable of making you feel like you’re in on the joke too).
The Designers at Debenhams x Ashish autumn/ winter 25 collection will be available exclusively at Debenhams.com from 8am on 9th October. Prices start from £59. Sign up today for exclusive early access and be the first to shop the Designers at Debenhams range.
Images: Courtesy of brand.
2025-10-01T14:03:12Z