Dame Helen Mirren found her red carpet confidence in a stripper shop.
Revealing that towering platform heels were her “secret weapon” during her early years in Hollywood, the actress, 80, spoke about her long-standing love of pole-dancing heels in an interview with British Vogue from the front row of Erdem’s autumn 2026 show during London Fashion Week.
Reflecting on attending awards ceremonies in Los Angeles in her earlier career, she said: “In my early days in LA, you know, the awards things, and there would be all these actresses like Nicole Kidman and these beautiful, tall, thin, gorgeous actresses, and I’d be this dumpy little five-foot-four thing amongst them.”
At the time, she said, high platforms were not readily available in mainstream fashion.
Helen added: “Platform heels were not in fashion. So the only place I could find a platform heel was in the stripper shops on Hollywood Boulevard.”
She also said: “It was $39.99, my first pair of stripper heels, and they worked like magic. Suddenly I was up there eye to eye with (5ft 11in) Nicole Kidman.”
Helen has previously spoken about her preference for high platforms.
In 2010, she told Woman and Home magazine: “Four-inch platforms give you great height and make your legs look unbelievably long.
“I used only to be able to get them in stripper shops, but now you can buy them everywhere – although, unfortunately, that means everyone else has discovered the trick too.”
Her fondness for dramatic footwear was referenced again in 2024 when Mattel created a Barbie doll in her likeness.
The doll was modelled on her appearance at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023, featuring a periwinkle Del Core gown, matching blue hair and platform shoes.
Speaking to British Vogue at the time, Helen said: “Bless the Mattel team, because they got my f***-me pump shoes right.” She added: “Enormous platform Pleasers have always been my secret weapon on red carpets – they give you six inches of height on your legs, and because they’re made for strippers, they’re quite stable, too.”
At the Erdem show, Helen sat alongside Glenn Close, Keira Knightley, Lily James and Rashida Jones, viewing the designer’s 20th anniversary collection.
For the occasion, she wore a navy knit cardigan with a crocheted shawl, a white botanical-printed skirt and Mary Jane flats.
