Promising Young Woman: The meaning behind Carey Mulligan's costumes

 

In the era of the #MeToo reckoning, Promising Young Woman presents a story of revenge that is clever, comedic, and darkly entertaining. In theaters now and available on demand from January 15, the directorial debut of writer and director Emerald Fennell–who was a showrunner for Killing Eve Season 2 and also joined the cast of The Crown as Camilla Parker-Bowles–centers on Carey Mulligan as Cassie, a woman who dropped out of medical school after her best friend and classmate was sexually assaulted. Although the film is driven by this dark theme, the unexpected story that unfolds is packaged in visually sweet aesthetics (most of the time), thanks to its sunny Los Angeles backdrop and costume design by Nancy Steiner.

With previous work on Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides and Lost in Translation, working on a female-led crew isn’t new for Steiner, but an opportunity that she wishes happened more often. Hollywood’s gender inequalities, whether it’s concerning the number of female filmmakers in the director’s chair or the rates at which women are paid (which for those in the costume department often fall far lower than other majority male positions in the industry), make projects like Promising Young Woman feel special for those involved. “There’s a different energy working with women,” Steiner tells L’OFFICIEL. “It feels more collaborative.” In this case, the result is a genre-bending rom-com thriller flick that lets the woman control the narrative–even when things begin to unravel.

During the day, Cassie appears as an unbothered 30-year-old who lives at her parents’ house and works as a barista. At night, however, she puts on a party girl disguise and goes out to bars and clubs in the hopes of luring men into her trap–but it’s not what you think. Cassie acts blackout drunk, slurring and stumbling, and waits for a seemingly nice guy to offer to escort her home. Every time, the man leads her back to his house and attempts to have sex with her, consciousness and consent be damned. But Cassie interrupts, dropping the act and surprising the man, stone cold sober, asking, “What are you doing?”

A main component of her ploy, Cassie always looks the part. In the film’s opening scene, she wears a skirt suit and heels to fit into the business bar atmosphere, where men in suits observe her until the “chivalrous” Jerry (Adam Brody), checks on her and offers her a ride, completing the evening like all the others. Another night, Cassie purposefully smudges her makeup to accompany her sloppy drunk ruse. These looks offer a stark contrast to Cassie’s feminine day-to-day style, where she is seen at the coffee shop in an Urban Outfitters rose-speckled baby pink top and her braid tied off with a bow. According to Steiner, Cassie’s wardrobe is just as purposeful in these moments as they are when she’s going out at night.

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