The whole world has been anxiously awaiting the return of Game of Thrones, but no-one more so than Maisie Williams. “I’m a pretty anxious fellow,” the British actress tells Vogue ahead of the Belfast premiere, which will also serve as a wrap party for the cast of the cult TV series (much of it was filmed in Northern Ireland). “Being in front of so many people like that makes me panic, so for this [red] carpet, I wanted to feel really good about myself.” Enter Stuart Vevers.

The Coach creative director made the custom dress – a blush-pink, cotton-lamé, prairie, tea-length gown with vintage crystal and sequin embellishments – especially for Williams and the momentous night. “It was really about Maisie feeling her best and creating something that we thought would really suit her,” says Vevers, who started working on the dress back in January. “Maisie’s got a big personality, but she’s also really down-to-earth and genuine. And she’s great fun to work with.”

The rosy colour palette was inspired by Williams’s pink hair, which she dyed at the end of last year when she finished filming – a look she’s returned to having gone violet for the New York premiere earlier this month. “She had a couple of really strong ideas initially that were able to set it off in the right direction,” says the designer. “It’s important to know what’s in her head, what’s important to her.”

“I think on a red carpet, my most nerve-wracking thing is a nip slip or a strap falling down,” says the actress, who plays Arya Stark on the show. “I’ve definitely worn dresses before where, as I’m stepping out, I think, ‘I have to hold my shoulders this way because the dress might do this.’ It’s not how you want to be feeling on a really big carpet. So I was keen that the bodice was structured, that I feel supported and have a cinched waist. I wanted a dress that was pure elegance too, but with attitude.”

Vevers, who has already dressed the actress on various red carpets, knew exactly where to take it from there. “Maisie’s got a really dynamic spirit and I think that comes through [in this look], but it is a romantic dress too. The print is a very subtle, nostalgic floral; there’s a fullness to the skirt, intricate pleating and beadwork that gives it an almost vintage feel, something that feels found,” he says. “There is a rawness to the construction too, which I think gives it a youthful spirit.”

“My sense of style?” Williams ponders. “I’m an androgynous, kawaii French girl riding a bike with a baguette. I like the clothes I wear to have a real edge to them.” The embellishments, she notes, have a real “medieval” feel – not classic Hollywood glitz and glam, but a special sparkle still.

To finish off her final Game of Thrones red-carpet look, Williams paired her pink dress with a simple pair of strappy sandals, a bespoke purse, a choker and matching bangles stacked on her wrists. “It gives the whole thing a grungy vibe,” she says. Vevers has also created a satin tour jacket to “throw over” the dress. “It adds to the youthful spirit, it feels very Maisie and I think it is very Coach too,” he says.

“In this dress I feel really beautiful and really well represented. Knowing that I don’t have to worry about my dress means I will have a really good time,” Williams concludes. And just like that, she’s off to party with Jon Snow, the Mother of Dragons and Sansa Stark.

Originally published in British Vogue