Sienna Miller on Her Frame Campaign, Larry David, and Pregnancy at 41
Long before boho chic made its triumphant return to the runways at Isabel Marant, Rabanne, and Chloé, there was Sienna Miller, who single-handedly reinvented the look in the early 2000s. With her breezy ruffled miniskirts, thick studded belts, fringed moccasin boots and regular attendance at musical festivals, the British-American actress unwittingly became a fashion icon and the poster woman for a trend that harkened back to the halcyon days of the ’70s, when The Rolling Stones dominated the cultural zeitgeist in the U.K. where she was raised.
Now, she’s reclaiming it with open arms and a nostalgic smile. “Ultimately, if I was to tap into the nucleus of my soul, that’s my aesthetic,” Miller tells me at a dinner she’s hosting with Frame and her boyfriend, actor Oli Green, to celebrate the denim brand’s spring campaign that the couple stars in. In the accompanying photographs, shot by co-founder Erik Torstensson, she and Green models suede pieces, oversized leather jackets, and wide-leg denim, true her trademark style that designers still yearn to emulate even 20 years later.
Below, more from Miller about working with Frame, her sartorial influences, and guest-starring in the last season of Curb Your Enthusiasm.
This marks your second Frame campaign. You and Erik Torstensson go way back. What made you decide to work together initially?
I’ve been aware of Frame since its inception, and he’s sent me pieces [over the years]. And then we were having martinis in Paris and he said, “I want you to do the Frame campaign,” and I said yes. [Laughs] There’s not much more to it! His campaigns are stunning. It was not a benevolent act—he’s an amazing photographer, he has the best taste of anyone know. I adore him.
Well, you have great taste too. As the poster woman for boho style, what are your thoughts on its return to the runway?
I couldn’t go to the Chloé show; I was so sad to miss it. I think it’s stunning. It’s clothes I still dream about wearing and love to wear, and that’s why, ultimately, if I was to tap into the nucleus of my soul, that’s my aesthetic. The fact that Chemena [Kamali] is doing it in this incredibly luxe way…I just think it’s stunning. I can’t believe she’s managing to elevate it even further each season. Breathtaking.
How did you develop your sense of style?
I was always inspired by the music of that generation and by the fashion of that era. Honestly, that’s my character. So from a very young age, that was what I was drawn to—and this is pre-social media, when you could go around markets and ask, Who am I? My identity was very much in line with those decades. That romanticism, I guess. There wasn’t a lot of thought to it, that’s just what I like to wear.
Who are some of the cultural figures from the ’70s you looked to?
I’ve always loved the Stones—by osmosis you absorb the things you’re drawn to. Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, those images. Jane Birkin, Brigitte Bardot. But then, Josephine Baker, Lucille Ball, Marlene Dietrich…there’s something connected in all of that. I was totally unselfconscious. Music, art—it was different then. You were inspired by actual things or magazine images. Now [with social media], you’re bombarded, and everybody kind of looks the same. When I was growing up, we had to search out things. There was more individualism.
The campaign is also inspired by that decade. Do you have a favorite piece from the collection?
It’s really hard because I would wear every single piece. And you can tell. All I wear is jeans and a jumper, and Frame does that better than everyone.
Congratulations on the birth of your daughter, by the way. What was it like having a baby at 41?
I now have a 12-year-old [Marlowe] and a 14-month-old. I think there’s a whole load of noise and people have a lot to say and it’s incredibly gendered and unbelievably misogynistic and anti-feminist. It’s insane. If your body is capable of it, have the baby. Have a wonderful baby. And by the way, I’m a better mother now, and it’s a much more grounded experience. Have all the babies at any time you want to have the babies. And no one has anything to say about—and I love these people, and they’re friends, which I like to name-drop—Al Pacino and Robert De Niro having kids in their 80s. Forget about your age! It’s irrelevant. It’s absolutely irrelevant.
As a big Curb Your Enthusiasm fan, I have to ask: How did your cameo come about?
Me too—I died! I accosted Larry David at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party because I’d had a few martinis and I was away from my child. And I was like, “I just have to tell you I love you.” He was on his own by a bar being Larry, and I could not take my eyes off him. And I was like, “I think you’re the most fantastic person. Come and be my friend.” And I guess in his weird Larry mind he kind of twisted it and was like, What if she has a crush on me? I was with my boyfriend, but, and I think to women too, I come across as flirtatious because I’m very open and have no filter, so he was like, Huh, what an interesting plot point. Eight months later I get an email: “Larry would like you to be in Curb, and your character has a crush on him,” which I guess I gave, but who wouldn’t? It’s Larry fucking David!
So if you were both single, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that you would date Larry David.
Not no! Not no. And I’d say that in front of my boyfriend. I think Larry could pull me and my boyfriend—we love the show that much. You improvise. It’s terrifying. I had no idea what I was doing. The best thing is Larry laughs throughout the entire thing—he cracks up and can’t say his lines. It’s an unprofessional environment filled with laughter. Why have I made films where I cry all the time? No more. Comedy only!
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.