How Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla Tells A Coming-If-Age Story By way of Style

Minor spoilers for Priscilla forward. Along with his flashy onstage costumes and larger-than-life vogue, Elvis Presley influenced quite a lot of the ’60s and ’70s fashion. However in Priscilla — the Sofia Coppola movie starring  Jacob Elordi and Cailee Spaeny because the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll and his ex-wife, based mostly on Priscilla Presley’s guide Elvis & Me — the garments inform a extra understated, intimate story of a lady crafting her personal id. 

For costume designer Stacey Battat, who additionally labored on Coppola’s The Bling Ring and The Beguiled, Priscilla’s costumes began with a 1970 picture of Elvis and Priscilla Presley, the place, based on her, it was noticeable that the 2 had diverged, not solely in fashion but additionally in actual life. “I believe early on Sofia and I checked out that picture and observed how she simply seems so uncomfortable,” says Battat. “I believe that picture simply informs a lot of how we noticed them later within the film.” 

In the beginning of the movie, viewers meet 14-year-old Priscilla Beaulieu, who resides in Germany together with her household on a US Military base, sporting pastel-colored cardigans, cutesy A-line skirts, and a coronary heart choker necklace. In preparation, Battat and her workforce researched cloth decisions and silhouettes of the late ’50s and early ’60s, trying to previous problems with Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar for inspiration. Additionally they checked out a real-life picture of Priscilla waving goodbye to Elvis as he left Germany for america, sporting a plaid gown and a sheer scarf worn over her head, which they recreated for the movie. 

Later, Priscilla strikes to dwell with Elvis in Memphis, Tennessee, the place she undergoes a makeover, going from plaid skirts and hair bows to opera gloves and glamorous mini clothes. When the couple goes purchasing, viewers see Elvis telling Priscilla what she ought to put on. “That clearly inform[s] the costumes that she wears later,” says Battat of the scene, the place Elvis additionally requests Priscilla dye her hair from brown to black and begin utilizing eyeliner. From then on, we see Priscilla in a revolving door of Elvis-approved blue and pink outfits (no prints or browns that Elvis hates). 

Whereas a lot of Priscilla is advised via extra intimate moments between the couple — like at dwelling the place Priscilla wears pastel-colored lingerie units and nightgowns —  the movie does present the couple’s 1967 wedding ceremony. For the seems, Battat labored with Chanel and Valentino, who made Priscilla’s robe and Elvis’ go well with respectively. True to the photographs from the Las Vegas ceremony, Battat and Chanel’s Virginie Viard created a long-sleeved, lace-embellished A-line gown for Priscilla, paired with a tiara and waist-length veil. “The [look] had references of the unique gown,” says Battat. “After which we sort of tailored a few of the stuff simply to suit Cailey’s [five-foot-one] body.” Equally, Battat recreated the outfit Priscilla wore after giving beginning to their daughter, Lisa Marie, staying true to the unique with a bubblegum pink gown.

The final half of Priscilla sees Elvis Presley on the peak of his profession in Las Vegas and Priscilla alone in Los Angeles. As the 2 develop aside, additionally they gown otherwise. The singer-actor trades his leather-based jackets and night jackets for vibrant jumpsuits — for which Battat labored with BK Enterprises — whereas Priscilla embraces the freer nature of ’70s fashion in pants and prints and her pure brown locks. 

“We checked out historic photographs of Elvis and Priscilla and thought of what was the picture which they projected out into the world,” says Battat. “I believe he grew to become a lot extra theatrical and masked — quite a lot of make-up, jewellery, massive sideburns. She turns into unmasked.”

Priscilla is now in theaters nationwide.

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