Fame hasn’t changed Sydney Sweeney (that much)

Sydney Sweeney had just returned from Rome when she met me at the Miu Miu store on Fifth Avenue. The case? An event in her honor. “Oh God, my name’s on the wall!” Sweeney said, wearing a leather miniskirt, a cropped button-down and knee-high boots from the Italian label. The actress, who has risen to fame in recent years, in part due to her roles as older sister Cassie in EUFOR and the ever-rolling Olivia inside The White Lotusshe seemed genuinely surprised that her name was on the shop’s wall.

Her name actually happened to be on a lot of walls tonight. The fashion house had asked her to select pieces from their ready-to-wear collection for a showcase. (Fun fact: Miu Miu was the first fashion show Sweeney ever walked in.) Her choices included several black, crushed velvet dresses, one with a satin trim and another with a built-in corset; a silk Cher-esque two-piece set; the same chunky boots she wore to the event; and a host of other statement pieces. “There are no rules and no boxes to live in,” Sweeney said of her fashion sense. “It’s really fun.” Guests floated through the three floors of the blue-carpeted space during the event, browsing the pieces Sweeney had chosen, taking photos with her and even purchasing items to take home. About halfway through the night, someone gave her their little dog, named Bootch, who quickly became the new star of the show.

The actress sat down with the Cut to chat about style, fixing cars and who she really is at her core.

Are you influenced by Cassie’s style at all?

Cassie, in general, is like me – a jeans and T-shirt kind of girl. I was more influenced by Cassie’s makeup. Just seeing what EUFOR Makeup artist Donni Davy did with all the girls. I think I got that energy into fashion by experimenting, wanting to try different things.

Besides fashion, I know one of your hobbies is fixing cars. Tell me how you started doing this and why you did it?

My dream was always to have a Bronco, it was my first dream car, but I couldn’t afford it. So when we went into isolation, I kind of said, “I need a hobby. I need something to do.” Then, it moved on to the second season of euphoria, so every day that I wasn’t filming, I would go to the garage and work on my Bronco. It was amazing. I grew up in a family of mechanics. I would send videos to my uncle and my cousins, and it was just a really nice thing to talk to them. And I’ve done some work on my Mustang. It’s a blue-blue 1964 Mustang. I need to do more work, but she was beautiful. I don’t want to touch its aesthetics. And then I have another car, but it will be my little surprise for what comes next.

Can you tell me what it feels like to drive one of those cars?

The vibe is carefree. Fun. I usually bring my dog, Tank.

Where did you get the name Tank from?

I wanted her to grow up to be a big Tank. I love big dogs, but she grew up to be a medium sized tank. She is a manageable Tank. She is just weird about anything and everything. I adopted her.

How do you feel like your life has changed since being shot in the spotlight?

It has certainly changed drastically. But I think the core Syd has always been there, which is really nice. And I hope I can keep it. But the people I’m around, I meet such amazingly talented people all over the world, the things I have access to, the fashion. It’s madness. I have the greatest makeup artists and hair stylists and I’m learning so much about how to do my hair and makeup that I would never know without this kind of world.

You said the core Syd is still the same. Can you describe what Syd is like for me?

Core Syd is a little boy. He likes to be outside, play sports. Loyalty is number one. I have always been a very loyal person. I always wanted to make everyone laugh and try to enjoy every single day. I just want to be happy.