It’s a sunny afternoon in Los Angeles, and Olivia Holt is lying on a photo studio floor, posing with the season’s It accessories. Thanks to a decade of experience in front of the camera, getting the perfect shot is almost second nature to her. But long before she found herself in a fashion story with Salvatore Ferragamo, she could only imagine where living out her childhood dream of becoming an actor and singer would take her.
Holt grew up in Tennessee near Memphis, finding a love of performing through her years in gymnastics, cheer, and local theater. She used her athletic training to land powerhouse roles as a martial arts maven on a TV sitcom and a young superhero on a science fiction series. Now, the 24-year-old is starring in the hit teen thriller Cruel Summer and aiming to take her career to a whole new level.
Playing Kate, the victim of an abduction, Holt steps into a more dramatic role. Her character is the subject of grooming, gaslighting, and domestic abuse. “We really wanted to execute the subject matters in the show as real and as raw as possible,” says Holt. “As creatives, we were given this brilliant opportunity to help educate our viewers about the issues we discuss in the show, and it’s really great to see the reaction and impact we’ve made just by the narrative we showcased on television.”
Introducing audiences to new points of view is one of the things Holt loves most about acting. “It’s a chance for us to just be somewhere else for a moment, but at the same time be educated and learn something that is still relevant. That is honestly one of my favorite parts about making movies—you get the chance to open people’s minds in a way that they haven’t explored before.”
Holt’s career is at a point of exponential growth, and she’s loving it. Over the past year, she has been able to learn from and collaborate with great storytellers. Her music has had the same steady rise as her acting career, with one of her songs charting in fall 2020. In June, she dropped her second EP, In My Feelings, followed by an infectious dance single called “Next.” When speaking about her music, Holt admits she’s still discovering what she wants to say as an artist.
“It has been such an interesting journey as I’ve grown to like other genres,” says Holt, who credits her Memphis upbringing for her appreciation of instrumental sound. “I love hearing guitar and drums, and pieces that can be taken and put into a genre of music that everybody thinks they know and love so well.” It’s all about the unexpected blend, she says: “Pop can become such a stagnant thing, but if you take little elements that you love somewhere else and throw them into the mix, you have this really beautiful piece of art.”
That journey of finding her voice also extends to social media, which Holt sees as a double-edged sword. “You have to just stay sane, right?” she says candidly. “I don’t know if I’ll ever get in a good rhythm of understanding how social media or being in the spotlight works, but something that has worked for me is staying grounded in reality.” On her Instagram, you’ll find plenty of shots of her rescue pup Roger and unfiltered selfies with honest captions about her body image and mental health. But right now she’s focused on balancing her private and public lives: “I try really hard to stay present and be with the people that I’m with. It’s definitely a challenge, but I find my way around it in the best way that I possibly can."
And when it comes to her style, Holt leads with what she loves. To her, confidence comes with feeling comfortable in your own skin and expressing yourself freely. “I’m the kind of person that doesn’t have a poker face,” she admits. And there’s a true sense of authenticity to her minimalist style.
During the afternoon photo shoot, Holt is clearly in her element, modeling Salvatore Ferragamo’s bright, statement-making accessories. “I love a good bag and pair of shoes,” she says. “I feel like my style can be very simplistic, so when you throw in a cool accessory, it just elevates the look in a real way.” The Italian label’s signature leather Studio Bags and mirrored sandals pop with personality and energy against her classic denim and all-black ensembles. Though she may have never imagined herself in high fashion, Holt effortlessly wears the outfit like it was made for her. After all, fashion is just another mode of performance, and that’s what Holt was born for.
“I thrive in performing. I really don’t know what else I would be doing,” she says. “This is where I feel like the most me and the best version of me. Performing is something that as a kid I loved to do, and then as I’ve just gotten older, it’s just turned into an insane passion and this creative outlet that just drives me to be just so much happier.”
When Holt speaks about her dream Hollywood career, she doesn’t plan on limiting herself. Next up on her wish list: Developing her own projects and musical style, and possibly even getting behind the camera.
You can tell by the way her eyes light up as she talks shop that she’s having the most fun of her career. “I honestly feel like this is just the beginning, which is wild because I’ve been doing this since I was literally a kid,” Holt says, “I want to help develop stuff, and keep making movies, television, and music, and just create cool art that people can relate themselves to or escape to. Ultimately, this is the world that I thrive in, and I want to continue doing that for as long as I exist.”
Discover the Salvatore Ferragamo Collection
Salvatore Ferragamo Studio Bag
Salvatore Ferragamo Trifolio Shoulder Bag
Salvatore Ferragamo F-heel Sandal
Salvatore Ferragamo Mirror Sandals
Salvatore Ferragamo Mirror Sandals
All Clothing by Salvatore Ferragamo. Art Direction by Sonja Georgevich; Styling by Annina Mislin; Styling Assistance by Michael Vasquez; Makeup by Tonya Brewer; Hair by Marissa Marino; Manicure by Queenie Nguyen; Production by Mandi Hayes.
