Jodie Turner-Smith spent Tuesday evening in Antibes talking about the kind of summer dressing she actually lives in: as little fabric as possible up top, and as much practicality as she can carry on the side. The 39-year-old was in the French Riviera for Zimmermann's Summer Escape event, where the brand marked its Autumn/Winter 2026 collection with a waterfront sunset dinner and a guest list that included Suki Waterhouse, Poppy Delevingne, Eiza González and Jessie Ware.
The timing matters because Turner-Smith's remarks were tied to the kind of glossy fashion moment that invites easy fantasy, but she kept pulling the conversation back to real life. She said she is an advocate for teeny-tiny swimwear and put it bluntly: “The smaller the better.” That same instinct for freedom runs through the way she talks about clothes more broadly. “This is the time to shed all the limits that clothing has put on you,” she said, framing summer as a season to strip things back rather than layer them on.
That view also helps explain why Turner-Smith said she likes working with brands whose outlook she genuinely connects with. On Zimmermann, she said the label has an effortless point of view that feels confident, sensual and expressive without becoming too precious. The fit seemed natural for an interview built around her personal style, but it also gave the evening a more specific purpose: this was not just a celebrity appearance in Antibes, it was a conversation about why certain clothes, and certain brands, make sense for her now.
The friction comes when the beach look has to survive actual life. Turner-Smith said that, especially as a mum, she needs a beach bag that can “carry it all” and still go from the beach to the beach club, lunch or “the boat situation.” She said she shares her six-year-old daughter, Juno, with her ex-husband, the actor Joshua Jackson, and that parenting changes what she keeps close. The bag has to do the heavy lifting; so does mosquito repellent. She added that she had bites all over her face and did not know who she thought she was coming out to the Riviera without it.
Turner-Smith's summer taste, though, is not limited to bikinis and bags. She said a great pair of jeans is still essential, with barrel silhouettes her current favourite, and she thinks the wedge is back. Her moodboard includes Monica Bellucci, Cicely Tyson, Bob Mackie creations and Grace Jones, whom she met on a trip to Jamaica. The two bonded over Spanish Town, the Jamaican town where Jones is from and where Turner-Smith said her parents are from too. Asked what version of herself is showing up now, she said there are “a legion of women living inside of me,” and that different one comes out depending on what is happening in her life and how she feels in her body.
That is the point of the whole visit in Antibes. Zimmermann gave Turner-Smith a polished stage, but her comments landed because they were practical, personal and a little unruly all at once. She wants the smallest bikinis she can wear, a bag that can survive the day, and a summer wardrobe that lets whichever woman is in charge that morning get dressed and get on with it.
