Felicity Jones’s Incredible Women talk, London

As London’s glitterati, fashion elite and most ardent cinephiles sipped champagne and chatted eagerly at the bar of BAFTA Piccadilly – the hallowed home of British acting – it became apparent that not many performers can illicit the same level of excitement as Felicity Jones. Of course, audiences around the world will know her for starring roles in the Star Wars series, On the Basis of Sex and The Theory of Everything – for which she received an Academy Award nomination. However, for many of this homegrown audience, the feeling of having grown up with Jones is a familiar one. As a teenager, she assumed the role of Emma Grundy on radio soap opera – and British institution – The Archers. Meaning that, before Jones became a household name, her voice had already been heard, and welcomed into, homes across the nation.

When the woman of the hour entered – dazzling in a simple yet sophisticated monochrome outfit, finished with a timeless pair of Jimmy Choos, of course – the party was in full swing. Admirers could be seen casting furtive glances Jones’s way as she caught up with her co-hosts Alison Loehnis, president of NET-A-PORTER, and Sandra Choi, Jimmy Choo’s creative director. When guests were ushered downstairs, signaling the beginning of Jones’s talk with PORTER editor-in-chief Sarah Bailey, all in attendance were quick off the mark, eager to secure the best seat possible.

The salon-style gathering took place in suitably fashionable surroundings, alongside costumes from breakout BBC series Killing Eve. Jones herself gestured towards one particularly covetable Molly Goddard dress when talk turned to clothes – or, more specifically, her faultless red-carpet style, for which she gave her long-time stylist Nicky Yates full credit. It would be easy to infer from Jones’s absence on social media that she’s a reserved interviewee, but she was honest, open and warm. From recounting a near-death experience she and co-star Eddie Redmayne shared on the set of The Aeronauts to admitting that every day she makes an effort to ‘quash her inner good girl’, Jones had the audience enthralled.

When the last of the audience’s questions (of which there were many) were answered, Jones was swept away for a late dinner at local hot spot Annabel’s. Meanwhile, remaining members of the illustrious guestlist, still waxing lyrical about the star, streamed out into the crisp air of the autumnal London evening.