A look at the costume design of Priscilla directed by Sofia Ford Coppola

When the costume designer is going to design a visual work based on documentary data and existing photos of people and return to a certain period of time and people’s lives, it seems that he will face few challenges. But this is just a misconception. Observing similarities and paying attention to historical references requires special intelligence and precision, which the creators of Priscilla 2023 seem to have managed well; But how and how?

From public photos to private space

One of the most talked-about films of 2023 was Priscilla, by Sofia Ford Coppola, which attracted a lot of attention for being an adaptation and portraying an important part of art and fashion history. The film, which delves into the private lives of Priscilla Presley and her husband Elvis, was highly praised for its elaborate costume design. Based on the book “Elvis and Me” written by Priscilla herself, the film provided Sofia Ford Coppola with a lot of information to depict parts of the couple’s life that were never seen on camera. Filming is not scheduled. But this point has made the work of the dress designer more difficult than other times; Because he has to create styles that, while being close to the image data and existing photos of these people, also consider the unseen details behind the curtain. Details that, while beautiful, are powerful storytellers.

The passage of time in the wardrobe

The timeline of the film Priscilla shows twenty years of the main character’s life; From adolescence to womanhood and then his personal independence that separated him from Elvis. In such a narrative, the growth of the characters and their changes are seen more than anything else, and along with the actions of the characters in the face of the events, it is the overall appearance of the people that portrays the change in itself. Considering this growth and changes in the design of Priscilla’s clothes has been one of the most important challenges for Stacey Butt, the costume designer of this film. In order to achieve a correct model, he considered three important periods of Priscilla’s life and with 120 separated styles, he tried to cover the director’s wishes in terms of character development by relying on the existing photos.

Girlish innocence

The film begins with Priscilla’s teenage story. A girl who at the age of 14, with her special innocence, falls in love with 24-year-old Elvis and gets tied to the life of this popular artist. Priscilla is simple and innocent compared to the charm and fame of Elvis, who at the beginning of his youth achieved a huge wealth and as a result an expensive appearance. She is so far removed from her fashion and glamorous world that she still needs her mother’s guidance on how to dress. In the first meeting with Elvis, he wears a pastel blue dress, which clearly depicts his childlike simplicity and decency. But at the second party, she shows up at the party in a dress that looks like it was obviously borrowed from her mother’s closet; Reuniting with Elvis in his hometown of Memphis, her pink shirt with a ribbon belt also conjures up a subtle image of innocence and her struggle to grow up. But a little later, when he has a constant association with Elvis, he gradually reaches completely different styles from the palette of pastel colors and simple cuts and out-of-fashion clothes from his mother’s closet; However, the same out-of-fashion clothes are designed by brands like Anna Suie and Chanel.

The luxury of femininity

Elvis gets permission from Priscilla’s family, so that he, who is now seventeen years old, can continue his education in Memphis and live in her house. Under the supervision of Elvis’ parents and nanny, the couple’s life begins under one roof, and here is the starting point of Priscilla’s transition from simplicity to feminine luxury. Now all his clothes are made under the supervision of Elvis; Her hair and face makeup is according to Elvis’ taste and even her friends need to please Elvis. Simple clothing patterns give way to creative designs, and pastel colors become bolder and more diverse.

The strength of independence

But this progress with Elvis’s taste fades from one place to the next. Little by little, Priscilla learns to separate her personality from Elvis and find her own way. As a rule, this approach appears first of all in his clothes. Priscilla, who was a shirt-wearing woman before, turns to pants that have appeared in fashion at the same time as the trends of the seventies. Her purple pants are the beginning of her independence in front of Elvis, and in the parting scene, her official clothes are blouse and pants, which show the seriousness of her decision. His clothes change from a cover for a controllable marionette to a uniform for a Cold War, and he ends up going for looks that are clearly not acceptable to Elvis.

Sub-particle detailsThebetween

Details are like drops that make the overall beauty of a style. Attention to detail is one of the most important features of Ford Coppola, which he definitely inherited from his father. The effect of this feature can be easily identified in his works and somehow distinguish his works from others. In Priscilla, more than anything, it is the detailing of the designers group, which was formed under the direction of the director and gave double power to the visual proportions.

Details outside the frame

Along with the existing images and photos, awareness and mastery of the trends of the time of the film narrative are also effective in forming the final image as fully as possible. In addition to these, there are details that are only considered as a kind of quotation; But there are many details in the acting and so on. Like this quote that it is said that Priscilla was never without makeup and never even went to bed; In fact, Elvis has never seen her without makeup!

hair and makeup

As much as clothes are important in the narrative of the formation of Priscilla’s character and her changes, hair and makeup design can also be examined. At the beginning of getting to know Elvis, she has a simple hairstyle and unrecognizable make-up in addition to girls’ clothes; But as soon as he approaches the threshold of the world of femininity, as he borrows his mother’s clothes, he also approaches her hair and face makeup. However, the important change is where Elvis tries to make Priscilla look like himself by manipulating her make-up and somehow controlling her as much as possible. Changing her blonde hair to black, her cat eye makeup and colored shadows and false eyelashes and deconstructive eyeliner all come through this lens. Fori, the film’s hair designer, has designed twenty hats to depict the character’s twenty-year history, all of which are based on video documentation.

Invisible accessories

Ford Coppola’s team is not only careful in choosing the details that are placed directly in front of the camera frame. One of the most interesting points is the whole drawer of underwear that the costume team has provided for the characters; Because despite not being seen, due to their different shape in 1950 to 1970, these clothes affect the actor’s body and even his movement and comfort, and this point was enough for the clothing group, after careful historical search, items Sew according to the time of the narration. Of course, most of the styles of the film were sewn by this team and not bought. This is the personal approach of Stacey Batt, who prefers to have the clothes sewn by herself.

shoes

Shoes, like underwear, have gone through an interesting process. The height difference between Jacob Elreddy, the actor who plays Elvis, and Kiley Spani, who plays the role of Priscilla is quite large, and this is the reason why Priscilla constantly wears high heels to avoid the huge height difference. Wearing high heels for an extended period of time would be uncomfortable for the actress, so Batt tried to solve this problem by considering several shoes. Priscilla’s shoes are high-heeled on camera, but when Kaylee’s feet are out of frame, they’re slip-ons, giving her the chance to play her role with more ease.

Multipurpose clothes

Designing 120 clothes for just one character shows a huge archive of clothes, which will probably cost a lot. But the team of costume and hair and make-up designers had an interesting solution for this problem with intelligence. Batt has given herself and her team a lot of access by designing multi-piece outfits and layering different items together. Of course, we should also mention 20 different hats and makeups that somehow cover repeated items; For example, the clothes Priscilla wears during her pregnancy are the same clothes she wears in the LSD scene.

dream wedding

Although a major part of clothing design is based on documentation; But Ford Coppola specifically requested that a special dress be designed for the wedding scene. He believes that the wedding scene is depicted as a dream and dreams can be easily changed. Important brands were also present in the creation of the dream image. CHANEL has volunteered to make wedding dresses and VALENTINO has been in charge of preparing Elvis’ bridal style.

wedding dress

At first glance, it seems that all the wedding styles are carefully repeated and the main elements of this look are present; Puffed up hair, trailing eyeliner and bridal veil and tiara. But when it comes to Priscilla’s long-sleeve wedding dress, there’s an element of creativity that sets Coppola’s Priscilla dress apart from the original Priscilla. Her guipure dress in details brings a new combination that is full of patterns and exquisite cuts and has wing design at the ends of the sleeves.

Feminist approach or distortion of history

Despite the many praises of this film, many criticisms have also targeted this work. Sofia Ford Coppola has always tried to flaunt her feminist approach in her works and present an unseen image of women; But some believe that he went too far this time and due to the documentary nature of his narrative, he went to the judge unilaterally and created an inhuman image of Elvis. Maybe this criticism is for him, but it should be considered that in the end, as the narrator, he is the one who determines the type of view of his narrative, and as always, dealing with women’s sufferings was and is his choice.