Florence Pugh Dazzles at the ‘East of Eden’ BAFTA Screening

Avatar photoHrvoje Milakovic
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Florence Pugh has recently transformed her promotional tour for Netflix’s latest limited series into a fashion spectacle, using each appearance to embody the essence of the project she’s promoting. This week, her efforts reached a new high as she geared up for the show’s official UK premiere.

‘East of Eden,’ Netflix’s seven-episode adaptation of John Steinbeck’s 1952 novel, has been generating buzz for months as one of the streamer’s more literary contenders for the awards season. With the series just days away from its global release, the promotional activities have increasingly centered around London, where the cast and creative team gathered for a significant screening.

This milestone was celebrated on Friday, September 25, when Pugh attended a special screening of ‘East of Eden’ hosted by BAFTA in London. For the occasion, she donned a striking black ruffled Rodarte gown, complemented by Bvlgari jewelry, marking a dramatic shift from the softer look she had earlier in the day.

In an interview with the Press Association at the screening, Pugh shared that the experience of creating the show was genuinely beautiful, despite the complexities and layers of her character.

The gown, part of Rodarte’s Fall 2026 collection, carried its own thematic significance. The collection was inspired by Dario Argento’s 1977 supernatural horror film ‘Suspiria,’ infusing dark romantic imagery into its design before Pugh even wore it.

This aesthetic choice resonated closely with the character she portrays in the series. Pugh plays Cathy Ames, a highly manipulative figure who defies the societal expectations of women by abandoning her roles as wife and mother to work in a brothel, a stark contrast to the more grounded aspects of Steinbeck’s original novel that focus on the Trask and Hamilton families.

At the BAFTA screening, Pugh was joined by co-star Mike Faist and Zoe Kazan, who serves as the series’ writer, co-showrunner, and executive producer. Earlier that day, Pugh had also visited BBC Studios, sporting a green striped Vivienne Westwood button-up paired with high-waisted pinstripe trousers, as part of a broader day of press engagements tied to the London rollout.

‘East of Eden’ reinterprets Steinbeck’s multigenerational saga through the lens of Cathy Ames, delving into themes of identity, inheritance, and the moral choices between good and evil that made the original novel a cornerstone of American literature. The series is directed by Garth Davis and Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, featuring a cast that includes Christopher Abbott, Hoon Lee, Tracy Letts, Ciarán Hinds, Martha Plimpton, Joseph Zada, and Joe Anders.

Pugh is not only starring in the project but also serves as an executive producer, allowing her to influence the adaptation beyond her performance. The series has reportedly been in development since 2020, making this London premiere a significant milestone for a project that has taken years to come to fruition.

All seven episodes of ‘East of Eden’ are set to premiere globally on Netflix on October 1, concluding a promotional journey that has included events in both Los Angeles and London. Given the strength of the source material and the talent involved, the series appears poised to be one of the streamer’s most prestigious releases this fall.

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