Speaking to Daisy Edgar-Jones, who telephones British Vogue from the set of War of the Worlds in Cardiff, is one way to reinvigorate your zest for life in the current climate. The rising star, who shot to fame in the small-screen adaptation of Sally Rooney’s zeitgeisty novel Normal People, sounds like she’s grinning from ear to ear throughout our conversation about her swift and stylish immersion into the fashion pool. Indeed, she has a lot to smile about. The London actor is the face of Jimmy Choo’s autumn/winter 2020 collection – Edgar-Jones’s first major fashion campaign.

“I love fashion, I love clothes, I love shoes,” says an excitable Edgar-Jones of her latest role, which she threw herself into with gusto after spending lockdown styling just her upper-half for the virtual Normal People promo tour. “[The Jimmy Choo shoot] was odd and surreal in a post-Covid way, but I didn’t have any prior experience, so it’s just become… normal. It’s what I’m used to now,” she adds of running around an empty Chiltern Firehouse wearing “funky” clothes in line with her personal style.

“There was definitely an element of ‘fake it until you make it’ and pretending to know what you’re doing when you don’t,” Edgar-Jones explains of getting into character. “Exploring what clothes and shoes can do for you is important in shaping how you look and feel throughout the day. It’s similar to the way I access characters for work.” The 22-year-old credits her cousin Jacqueline, a shoe designer who lived in the loft of her family home when Edgar-Jones was growing up, with encouraging her passion for clothes.

It was Jacqueline who helped Edgar-Jones curate a moodboard chock full of Miu Miu, Shrimps and Gucci to send to her stylist, Nicky Yates, when she was thrust into the spotlight. “Jacqueline was helpful in pointing me towards brands I should be aiming towards,” she affirms. “Having reference pictures [made it feel like] a collaboration. It’s important to feel good when dressing up and expressing yourself.”

Fashion, Edgar-Jones muses, was “not an element [she] thought would come into play” in her career. “It’s such a fun thing to be involved in and to learn about,” she enthuses. “I love trying on stuff I would never usually wear and developing a new sense of style.” Marianne, Edgar-Jones’s character in Rooney’s emotionally devastating drama, had a uniqueness the actor says bolstered her own confidence when it came to approaching her public-facing looks. “I don’t want to dress like everyone else,” she adds.

This willingness to experiment was crucial during the numerous Zoom press junkets Edgar-Jones had to style herself for – with Yates helpfully steering from afar. “There was a lot of balancing laptops on books and trying to light my grey room in the best way possible,” she laughs. “In a way, it was amazing, because we were able to do more [promo] things without physically travelling anywhere.” The monster-collared Ganni blouse was a personal Zoom favourite, but Edgar-Jones also enjoyed delving into her pre-overnight fame wardrobe for existing pieces to style with her new ones. “It’s nice to have a few special pieces and make them work with others,” she says, conscious of the responsibility that comes with being a young style plate with brands clamouring to dress her.

Edgar-Jones’s most cherished item of clothing is a vintage Miu Miu top her mum gifted her when she was younger. As such, the brand has always had a special place in her heart. Taking her turn at the TV BAFTAs in an elegant black Miu Miu gown with a crystal-embellished bodice was a career highlight. “I love the red carpet because it is like properly playing dress up and being someone else – similar to acting,” she says, before sharing that Chanel and Gucci are on her fantasy brand list. “I’d really love to partner with a brand one day,” she admits.

For now, Edgar-Jones has a shoe rack of new Choos to get excited about. She loves the “comfy and cool” Cruz 65 boots with pearl effect on the tongue, and the pristine white Hawaii/F trainers, which she will pair with the Frame jeans and “nice, funky” Tees she lives in away from the spotlight. On the back-to-school shoes she advises Vogue readers to buy for the coming season, Edgar-Jones says, “A really good, comfy pair of black shoes that go with anything – then you’re sorted!” The bright young thing’s Jimmy Choo campaign is a good place to start looking.