Helena Bonham Carter on Her Crazy Fashion: Why Not Break All the Rules

At this year’s Golden Globes, actress Helena Bonham Carter, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for “The King’s Speech,” shocked once more as she walked the red carpet in mismatched shoes. Asked why, she says fashion should be fun, meant to break the rules.

Carter has never been known exactly for her traditional style or for her desire to play by the rules. On the contrary, she’s been repeatedly singled out for her wacky style and fashion sense – and, not once, severely criticized for it.

Speaking with People magazine, the star says that people (female celebrities, in particular) have forgotten that fashion is all about having fun – and not about blindly following rules.

That’s why she matched her Vivienne Westwood dress at the Globes with shoes of different colors, one red and one green.

“Sometimes I get it right and I sometimes I get it wrong. But fashion is all about having fun. I think fashion has been hijacked by the fashion industry creating rules on what one should wear and I feel like breaking the mold and seeing that the world won’t crumble,” the actress says for the magazine.

Asked to detail why she chose to accessorize with mismatched shoes, Carter is very direct: why not? If she wanted to and she had the shoes at the ready, who was there to tell her she couldn’t do it.

“Why not wear mismatching shoes? Who says we can’t? I was just having fun. For me, fashion is all about fantasy and putting unlikely things together. That’s what I love. I genuinely love dressing up,” the actress explains.

That’s also why she loves Lady Gaga for how bold she is in her fashion choices: here is a woman who will not play by the rules, but rather make of her style whatever she feels like it.

“I love the way she dresses. She’s like a work of art. Anybody who is inventive, different or has fun like her, I love and admire. I’m amazed that she’s able to stand up in some of those shoes she wears,” Carter says.

As for what fashion gurus and her fans are to expect from the upcoming Academy Awards, when pressure to look good on the red carpet reaches climax for this year’s awards season, with Helena, it’s best to always expect the unexpected.

“Maybe I will wear the exact same [Vivienne Westwood] dress I wore at the Golden Globes but with matching shoes. Or put the shoes on my head!” she laughs.