What Will Laura Dern Wear to the Golden Globes? (Hint: It Will Be Black)

“This feels insane, this coat,” said the actress Laura Dern, swishing the hem of a blue riding jacket. “You feel so protected and chic and armed.”

On a slushy Saturday morning last month, Ms. Dern, 50, slipped away from rounds of promotional events to visit the Chelsea studio of the designer Gabriela Hearst. Awards season was just around the corner and Ms. Dern, who had a banner year, needed a lot of looks.

After winning the Emmy for playing the titanium-tough mother Renata Klein in “Big Little Lies,” Ms. Dern has also been nominated for Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards. She appeared in the rebooted TV series “Twin Peaks: The Return” and stars as a resistance leader in “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.” In that film, she rocks purple hair and a taupe gown with dramatic draping, a style that fans have started to imitate.

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With her stylist Cristina Ehrlich, Ms. Dern swept into Ms. Hearst’s airy loftlike studio at 11 a.m., a half-hour late, like a whirlwind of poise, wearing burgundy high-heeled boots, oversize sunglasses and a pink houndstooth wrap by Ms. Hearst. It was gray outside, but bright in the studio, and Ms. Dern, with her blond hair and pep-squad enthusiasm, seemed to carry sunshine with her.

Ms. Dern greeted Ms. Hearst warmly, thanking her for the shimmering maraschino pantsuit she wore for “The Last Jedi” premiere in London. “A masterpiece,” Ms. Dern said. “I have never worn anything that people complimented more.”

She first wore an outfit by Ms. Hearst at the Sundance Film Festival last year, and the two soon struck up a friendship. For the Met Gala last May, Ms. Dern not only wore a peekaboo navy column dress by Ms. Hearst, but also invited the designer along as her date.

Removing her wrap, Ms. Dern headed for the racks of clothes, beelining for a black belted dress made of wool from Ms. Hearst’s ranch in Uruguay. Ms. Dern ran a hand over it, relishing a sheer panel. “Every texture is thrilling,” she said. “This is what happens when women work together, when women are designing for women.”

The choice of black was no accident. In response to the reckoning of sexual misconduct throughout Hollywood, Ms. Dern is among the 300 women, including famous actors, producers and directors, who formed a movement called Time’s Up. Along with other things, the group is asking that women wear black on the red carpet to raise awareness.

“This is a beautiful opportunity,” she said firmly. She has also been working with the group to help victims of sexual misconduct navigate the awards season. “They don’t need to be on the red carpet at an awards event talking about their personal assault or harassment,” she said. “Let’s talk about women.”

But even anxious moments call for beautiful clothes, and Ms. Dern doesn’t apologize for embracing fashion. “It’s the most beautiful art form,” she said.” I’ve always loved it, so I’ve never felt trite about it.”

“I’m so lucky that I have these beautiful friends, brilliant actresses — Isabella Rossellini, Julianne Moore, Naomi Watts — these are great artists,” she said. “And, oh my God, if you hear us talk about fashion. We are obsessed.”

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After setting the belted wool dress aside, Ms. Dern sifted through four racks of clothing and paged through the spring look book, picking out pieces that she wanted pulled. It felt more like a shopping spree on Net-a-Porter than a cliffhanger on “The Rachel Zoe Project.”

At one point, Ms. Dern even pushed into the back room, where prototypes and leftovers are kept. “I am very embarrassed to show you this mess right now,” Ms. Hearst said. But Ms. Dern didn’t seem to mind.

Every piece seemed to delight Ms. Dern, and if any weren’t to her taste, she kept it to herself. (Everything was “beautiful” or “gorgeous,” unless it was merely “pretty.”)

It was too cold to wriggle out of her jeans and boots, so Ms. Dern and her stylist kept a tally of items she might like to order for luncheons and press gauntlets. From a look book, Ms. Dern chose a long-sleeve black blouse paired with a gold lamé skirt. “I’d love to wear these together,” she said. A handbag shaped like a concertina also caught her eye. “Who makes this?” Ms. Dern said. “This is insane.”

From the racks, she selected a blue-and-maroon striped dress and a blue riding jacket from Ms. Hearst’s fall/winter collection. “Can I please place an order?” Ms. Dern asked.

Ms. Hearst said, “Tell me what you like, and we just make it happen.”

Ms. Hearst brought out a pair of linen pajamas treated with aloe, and they joked about how they should embroider “Renata” on the shirt, Ms. Dern’s character from “Big Little Lies.”

Perhaps her Star Wars character, Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo, would make a more fitting monogram. Ms. Dern said that she and the director, Rian Johnson, “really worked to make her the most radically feminine leader we’ve ever had.”

It’s that radical femininity Ms. Dern wants to preserve during this tense awards season. “I love sensuality,” she said. “I’m a flirt. I love men. I want to own my femininity and my sexuality. I don’t want there to be fear about it. That would be heartbreaking.”

She turned to Ms. Hearst. “It feels so safe to collaborate on our idea of what’s sexy,” she said.