Keira & Her Corsets

As Keira Knightley stars as Anna Karenina, we look back at her
other period roles
Rex FeaturesOliver Twist
Keira Knightley’s first turn in a corset came way back in 1999, when she starred in a TV adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist. She played Rose Fleming, Oliver’s aunt, and seemed a natural when it came to wearing period clothes. And bonnets for that matter.
Rex FeaturesPrincess Of Thieves
Rex FeaturesDr Zhivago
Way, way before Anna Karenina, Keira already had the Russian thing sussed. In 2002, she appeared in Doctor Zhivago as the beautiful Lara. The furs and warm-weather gear that characterise AK were already in evidence but this was a bleaker depiction of Russian life, so there was significantly less satin.
Rex FeaturesPirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Blake Pearl
The Pirates Of The Caribbean trilogy catapulted Keira Knightley onto the world stage. When we weren’t swooning for Orlando Bloom, we wanted Keira’s amazing 18th century wardrobe(not to mention her fantastic cleavage).
Rex FeaturesKing Arthur
Keira as Guinevere was all jewels and ballgowns, right? Wrong. The 2004 film looked at demystifying the tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, and that included Guinevere. The actress’ queen was a war leader, wearing animal skins, strappings and tattoos!
Rex FeaturesPride & Prejudice
A year later and Keira was taking on her biggest role to date. Elizabeth Bennet in Pride & Prejudice saw her working an empire line and a plethora of petticoats, opposite Matthew Macfadyn and then-real-life beau, Rupert Friend. It was all worth it though, as she was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar in 2006.
Rex FeaturesPirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
No one can swash-buckle in a corset like Keira so we weren’t surprised when she revived her role as Elisabeth Swann in the second Pirates Of The Caribbean movie. As well as the usual fantastic crinoline dresses, we saw Elisabeth’s wedding dress – before her nuptials were interrupted by Captain Sparrow, of course.
Rex FeaturesPirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
The third Pirates Of The Caribbean movie saw Keira lose the big, taffeta skirts and become a proper pirate. She even had the hat!
Rex FeaturesAtonement
Keira showed off her delicate frame and embodied the sexiness of the 30s in this daring green evening dress in the Ian McEwan war drama. Sky Movies voted the dress the Best Costume Of All Time, beating off competition from Audrey Hepburn’s Breakfast At Tiffany’s little black dress.
Rex FeaturesSilk
Keira’s turn in Silk, about a married silkworm merchant-turned-smuggler, didn’t have the same impact as her other movies but her 19th century costumes were created by Japanese designer Kazuko Kurosawa, and were notable for their European and Asian influence.
Rex FeaturesEdge Of Love
Keira’s costumes for this WWII romance ranged from slinky satin to floral dresses teamed with woollen knits and welly boots. We don’t know how they did it but Keira and co-star Sienna Miller managed somehow to make the ration era look super-stylish.
Rex FeaturesThe Duchess
Everything was big in The Duchess: the hair, the skirts and the frills. Costume Designer Michael O’Connor based many of Keira’s outfits on 18th century paintings and cartoons of the real Duchess of Devonshire.
Rex FeaturesA Dangerous Method
Playing a hysterical patient in David Cronenberg’s flick saw Keira in a lot of white lace. The cast all had to wear original corsets, bum pads and petticoats from the period. Nice.

Anna Karenina
For Anna Karenina, Keira teamed up with Jacqueline Durran (Pride & Prejudice, Atonement) once again. Jacqueline told us: “Because 1873, when we set the film, was the kind of transition point between the crinoline and the bustle… It was in the middle and slightly bell-shaped, and it tipped forward a bit at the front but extended at the back.”
